


Timeless

by navywife97



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, F/M, Mystery, Partners to Lovers, Police, Sex, Suspense, True Love, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:28:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26220409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navywife97/pseuds/navywife97
Summary: Tim and Lucy buy a foreclosed house in Echo Park. As they're showing their friends and family their new house that definitely needs some major TLC, Cheyenne, Tim's daughter, finds two boxes of old journals. The journals were written by retired Detective Rowan McElroy, whose storied career at the LAPD is the stuff of legends. As Lucy reads through the journals, she realizes that Rowan's story with the LAPD began much the same way hers did, and that Rowan once took down her own monster. What Rowan did with her life after that helps Lucy realize what she's hoping to do with hers.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen
Comments: 30
Kudos: 21





	1. New House

Officer Tim Bradford glanced around the dilapidated house located in Echo Park. He liked Echo Park, but wasn’t sure about this house... however, he and his fiancee, Officer Lucy Chen, had finally pulled the trigger, and had decided it was time to move. After the fire at Tim’s house that was set by ex Master Sergeant Tom Phifer, Tim’s former boss in the Army, neither he nor Lucy wanted to keep living in the house even after it was repaired. Plus, Tim knew that his daughter, Cheyenne, hated visiting them at that house, with all the bad memories that it brought back for her. So, Tim and Lucy had been house hunting for several weeks now. Lucy had claimed she had finally found “the one”...but as Tim glanced around the home, which had definitely seen better days, he wasn’t so sure. 

“You can’t be serious, Boot. This place is a dump!” Lucy rolled her eyes at Tim, before she glanced at their friend and colleague, Officer John Nolan, pleadingly, hoping he would help make her case for the house. Lucy had asked John to tag along with them to look at the house, since John was an expert at renovating houses. John smiled at her as he looked at Tim. “Honestly, Tim, most of this is just lipstick and rouge.” Tim frowned at John in confusion. “Lipstick and rouge?” John nodded. “Yeah. Foundation seems solid. Plumbing and wiring has already been updated...that’s going to save you boatloads of money right there.” Tim crossed his arms and frowned at John. “Then why is the place in foreclosure?” John shrugged and sighed. “Who knows? Maybe the previous owners couldn’t afford it...or maybe they just didn’t give a damn about taking care of the house. All this place really needs is some updating in the kitchen and bathrooms, a really good cleaning, give the flooring some TLC, and fresh paint.” John took out a pocket knife and crouched down to a section of the living room floor, that was carpeted in the most hideous rust colored carpet he’d ever seen. He cut into the carpet, and tore a tiny section of it up. Tim scowled at him. “Nolan...don’t do that! We don’t own this place.” John laughed at him. “Look around...like they’ll be able to tell I cut this tiny bit of carpet.” He shook his head as he went back to what he was doing while Tim glanced around. John had a valid point...the place looked like it had been ransacked a dozen times over. Tim looked back at John as John whistled. “What is it, Nolan?” John stood up and smiled. “This hideous carpeting is hiding some outstanding Maple floors.” Lucy squealed in delight as Tim stared at him. “Did you say Maple floors? Seriously?” John nodded. “Yep...and this house is huge. You’ve got a great kitchen already, but you take one wall out, and you can have an open floor plan like I have.” Tim sighed and closed his eyes. “You know more about this than I do Nolan...what’s your opinion on this house?” John smiled at Tim and Lucy. He put his pocket knife back in his pocket. “If this house were fixed up, in the area it’s in, and the size it is, it would cost you 700, maybe even 800 thousand, easily.” Tim rolled his eyes. “There’s no way in hell we can afford that.” John’s smile got even wider. “Yes there is. The condition this house is in, you offer 200 thousand...220 at most, but not a penny higher. With my help, and six months, and maybe twenty thousand total, we can easily fix this place up, and it will be a showplace.” Tim glanced at Lucy, who had the biggest smile on her face. It had been a while since he’d seen her smile like that. Tim sighed as he walked around, looking around in the rooms. The house and a nice front yard and porch. It had an even bigger backyard, that was fenced in, with a huge patio. The kitchen was huge, and all the bedrooms were a good size. The house was a Spanish/Mediterranean style house with a cream colored stucco exterior, orange tiled roof, and large arched windows. He could easily see a life with Lucy playing out in this house...and the fact that he could see it so easily, is what sealed the deal for him. 

He went back to Lucy and looked at her. She had such a hopeful expression on her face. He smiled at her and she squealed. “Really?” Tim nodded and laughed as Lucy jumped into his arms. He spun her around as she showered his face with kisses. “I can’t wait to tell Cheyenne, and mom and dad, and your mom and dad, and Grayson, and….” Tim laughed as he set Lucy on her feet. He walked over to Nolan. “Umm...you’re going to have to take the lead on this renovation, because you know way more about that stuff than either me or Lucy do.” John smiled at him. “You provide the food and beverages, I’ll provide the tools and know how...and you’ll let me boss you around for six months, while we fix this place up. Me being your boss...what could be better than that, Bradford?” Tim rolled his eyes, as he shook John’s hand. “You got a deal, Nolan.” What Tim and Lucy had no way of knowing, at least not yet, was the house that stood on Hollyleaf Circle, had a very interesting history with the LAPD, and of a timeless love story that mirrored the story of Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen. As Tim and John and Lucy continued to wander the house, the boxes of old diaries that told of a love story long ago were just sitting there, in a hidden space in one of the bedroom closets, just waiting to be discovered. Tim and Lucy called their realtor, and put an offer on the house that night. Their offer was accepted the next day, much to their delight. 

Three weeks later, Tim, Lucy, Lucy’s partner Officer Grayson Wells, Cheyenne, Tim’s family, and John were all looking around the house. Retired Colonel Stephen Bradford glanced around. “Well...you’ve definitely got some work to put into it. But all in all...this is a great house, son. And you got it for a steal. A little TLC, this will be quite the place.” Tim nodded and grinned. “Lucy found it.” Cheyenne squealed and ran over to Lucy and hugged her...picking Lucy up off the floor. “Great job, mumsy!” Not long after Cheyenne began referring to Tim as ‘dad’, she started feeling guilty. She just couldn’t bring herself to call Lucy ‘mom’, or mama, or anything like that...it felt like a betrayal to her late mother, Krista. But she and Lucy had grown really close, and Cheyenne loved her almost as much as she loved her real mother. So Lucy, being Lucy, went to google, and searched for nicknames for the word ‘mother.’ Lucy had told Cheyenne to choose one...jokingly, Cheyenne had chosen mumsy, and had tested it. She and Lucy had laughed until the tears came. But it felt right to Cheyenne, so the nickname had stuck, which was just fine with Lucy. 

Lucy laughed as Cheyenne put her down. “There are three bedrooms...well, four if you count the room that was apparently used for an office.” Tim came to stand behind Lucy and put his hands on her shoulders, as they grinned at Cheyenne. “Go choose your room Chey.” Cheyenne gasped. “But I don’t need one...I live at college now.” Lucy laughed. “That’s only temporary, you’ll need your own room when you come see us. Consider it your birthday present. Choose any room on the second floor, and we’ll decorate it however you want.” Cheyenne squealed again, and raced up the stairs in the living room. Her birthday was in one week, but, Cheyenne looked far older than she was, which sometimes bothered Tim and the Colonel. Tris and Timmy, Tim’s niece and nephew, raced up the stairs after Cheyenne, making Tim laugh. Lucy was showing Tim’s mother and sister around, while Tim was talking with Grayson and John over plans of when to start the renovations. They all froze when they heard a cry. It came from Tris, Tim’s five year old niece. “Mommy, mommy, Timmy pushed me through the wall!” Tris came running out of a bedroom and was racing back down the stairs, with Timmy right on her heels. “Did not! You tripped over my feet and fell into the wall because you’re stupid!” Tris froze on the steps and turned around and glared at her twin brother, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m not stupid, you’re stupid!” Tim sighed. “That’s enough you two, get down here now, and stop with the name calling.” Tim’s sister, Sydney, rolled her eyes as her twin tornadoes came racing to her. “If you two don’t chill out, and I mean right now, Uncle Tim and Uncle Grayson are going to take you for a ride in the back of their patrol car, got it?” Tris’ eyes went wide. “But mommy...that’s where the bad guys sit!” Sydney nodded seriously, as Grayson hid his smile. “That’s right Tris...the bad guys do sit back there. If you and your brother keep acting like bad guys, you both get to sit back there too. Or you can calm down and behave. Your choice.” Tris looked at her brother, and grabbed his hand. Her little face was so solemn, Sydney had to turn her head to keep from laughing. “We better chill out Timmy, like mommy said!” Timmy nodded, as everyone was snickering. 

Just then, Cheyenne came downstairs with two large cardboard boxes. Grayson frowned at her, and went to take them from her. “What are these, and where did you find these, brat?” Cheyenne rolled her eyes at him. “That’s not my name...Shrek. I found them in one of the bedroom closets. Looked like they were in some kind of storage area...Tris fell into it when Timmy pushed her.” Tris frowned at Timmy, and the argument almost started up again, until they both glanced up at Sydney who was giving them the dreaded ‘mom look.’ They both instantly fell silent. Grayson sat the boxes down on the cracked kitchen counter, as Tim opened one of the boxes and everyone peered inside. The box was filled with notebooks. Lucy took one out and opened it...she frowned. “These look like they’re someone’s personal journals.” Tim peered over her shoulder, and nodded. “I wonder who they belonged to?” He snatched the notebook from Lucy, and put it back in the cardboard box. Lucy frowned at him. “Hey! I was reading that!” Tim rolled his eyes. “We can read them at home, Boot. It’s past lunch time, and I’m starving.” Everyone else nodded, as Lucy looked around and sighed. “Ok, fine...Let’s go eat.” Tim and Grayson carried the boxes out to Tim’s truck. Lucy couldn’t wait to dig into them and find out what story was told in those notebooks. 

They all decided to go eat lunch at La Fiesta, a mexican grill restaurant. Tim and Grayson were both frowning at Cheyenne. She rolled her eyes at both of them. “What? Kyle has to eat too.” Cheyenne had invited her boyfriend to join them for lunch, and he’d accepted. Tim sighed. “Yeah...he can eat with his own family.” Lucy smacked Tim’s hand. “Don’t be rude...look here he comes.” Grayson and Tim glanced at each other, and Cheyenne began to realize this might be a bad idea. Kyle was the newest in a string of boyfriends, and she had just realized that Grayson hadn’t yet met him. Tim and the Colonel had though and neither one of them liked him. Kyle was eighteen, and every bit the typical eighteen year old...complete with the smartass attitude. Kyle sat down next to Cheyenne, who was now sitting between Grayson and Kyle. Kyle smiled at everyone. “Sup?” Cheyenne inwardly cringed, as Grayson rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what language that is.” He reached across Cheyenne and yanked Kyle’s baseball cap off of his head and slammed it into his chest. Kyle turned to look at him with an attitude, but was quickly shut down by Grayson’s glare. Tim was glaring at him from across the table. John quickly tried to diffuse the situation. “So, Kyle, I understand you attend college with Cheyenne. What are you studying?” Cheyenne looked at John gratefully as Kyle answered him with a careless shrug of his shoulders. “Surf Science and Technology.” John plastered a smile on his face as Tim and Grayson rolled their eyes at the same time. “Oh...that’s...ummm...really interesting. What do you plan to do with it?” Kyle looked annoyed. “Surf...what else would I do with it?” John nodded, and went back to his drink...and the rest of the lunch was the longest and most awkward of Cheyenne’s life. 

She glared at Tim and Grayson as they were all leaving the restaurant. Kyle had left earlier, without so much as a goodbye to anyone, including Cheyenne. “What was that all about?” Grayson shrugged. “Hey, if you want to date a loser like that, your choice, but, you can do better.” Tim rolled his eyes. “You’re not going out with him again Cheyenne.” Lucy stepped in before the situation could deteriorate any further. “Ok...Cheyenne needs to get back to school, we need to get home and get started on the packing…” Sydney interrupted her. “And I need to get the twin tornadoes home. Love the house guys, let me know what I can do to help.” She hugged Tim and Lucy goodbye as Cheyenne and Grayson each grabbed one of the twins and gave them piggy back rides back to their car. Everyone said their goodbyes, and parted ways. Lucy was eager to get home and start reading the journals they had found in their new house earlier.

Later that evening, Lucy was curled up in bed, with a glass of pinot noir, and had opened the first notebook. She started reading and gasped. She quickly read the first few paragraphs and gasped. “No freaking way...Tim! You won’t believe this.” Tim had just finished brushing his teeth. After he was done in the bathroom, he came back into the bedroom and crawled into bed with her. “What am I not going to believe, Boot?” He pulled Lucy into his arms, careful not to jostle her wine. Lucy took a sip of her red wine and grinned at him. “You’ve heard of Rowan McElroy, right?” Tim rolled his eyes at Lucy. “Of course...she’s a legend at the LAPD. Her career was one for the books. She changed how women were treated and accepted in the LAPD. She was a trailblazer, Boot. She started at Mid Wilshire you know...she still pops in occasionally just to revisit her old stomping grounds.” Lucy smiled at him. “These notebooks are hers! They’re her diaries that she kept when she first started with the LAPD!” Tim gaped at Lucy. “Are you serious?” Lucy eagerly nodded...and she and Tim began to read about the legendary Rowan McElroy, one of the most storied female detectives that had ever served in the LAPD. And her story, especially her personal one, began in much the same way that Officer Lucy Chen’s story with the LAPD had.


	2. Boot and T.O.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and Tim begin reading the first of Rowan's journals,and things were definitely different for female recruits in law enforcement back in 1980. Lucy is shocked at how the start to Rowan's career with the LAPD so closely matches her own. Lucy immediately sees a lot of herself in Rowan, and a lot of Tim in Rowan's T.O., Officer Greg Parker.

June 8, 1980  
Officer Greg Parker sat in the office of his watch commander, Sgt. David Pierce. Sgt. Pierce sighed as he looked at his officer. “The world’s not so simple anymore, Officer Parker. I guess it never was. The LAPD ignored it...now we can’t.” Officer Parker frowned. “I’m not sure I follow, sir.” Sgt. Pierce looked at him grimly. “Crime is going up across the board across Los Angeles. And the demographic that’s being hit the hardest is women...specifically women between the ages of 18-35. Our current way of dealing with things isn’t working anymore.” Officer Parker nodded his head in agreement. “We do the best we can, sir.” Sgt. Pierce shook his head. “But we haven’t been doing our best. Women make up only 13% of the LAPD, and most of those women aren’t out on the front lines every day. When female victims are being questioned about the crimes committed against them, it’s usually a male officer that’s asking the questions. And the female victims are usually less than cooperative, understandably so, considering most of the suspects committing these crimes against them are males. It’s why the LAPD is heavily recruiting women right now. The mayor’s hope is that with more women on the force, crimes against women will eventually go down, and female victims of crimes will be more cooperative, which in turn will help us get more criminals off the streets.” Officer Parker sighed. “Why am I here, sir?” Sgt. Pierce narrowed his eyes at Greg. “You’re here because I need to know, point blank, if you have a problem with women serving with the LAPD. I’m making you a training officer, and you’ll be training one of the new female recruits...but that’s not going to work if you have a problem with them being here.” Greg shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t have a problem with female police officers if that’s what you’re asking...if they can do the job. I don’t want anyone watching my six, male or female, if they can’t handle the streets. If they can, regardless of their gender, than they’re ok by me.” Sgt. Pierce smiled. “Excellent. Hit the roll call room. You’ll meet your new recruit shortly.”

Officer Rowan McElroy was nervous...but she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. She and two other female recruits were standing outside the roll call room of the Mid Wilshire Police Station. They had been told to wait outside of the roll call room until further instructed...but she wasn’t sure why. It didn’t take her long to find out why when she heard the watch commander, Sgt. David Pierce, thundering away at the roll call room behind a closed door. 

Sgt. Pierce was glaring at his officers. “It has come to my attention that some of you seem to have a problem serving with female police officers. There’s even a petition going around apparently. Well gentlemen, you know what you can do with your petition, you can wipe your asses with it!” One of the male officers, Officer Keven Pruitt, spoke up. “Aww’c’mon Sarge. We’re on the front lines, of a city that sometimes can be a damn war zone. It’s no place for a woman. How the hell are we supposed to worry about catching an armed suspect if we’re having to worry about some woman cop getting her panties in a twist over breaking a nail, or messing her hair up. Not to mention the fact that some of these assholes on the streets will go after a female police officer simply because she is a woman, and women make easy targets. It’s not fair to force women police officers on us like this!” Sgt. Pierce glared at Officer Pruitt. “So you think that only a male police officer can get the job done, and get it done correctly, is that it?” Officer Pruitt shrugged. Sgt. Pierce rolled his eyes. “If that’s the case Officer Pruitt, then why are crimes against women going up? More so than any other demographic in this city? Does that mean you aren’t getting your job done?” Sgt. Pierce sighed. “I don’t give a damn about anyone’s old school, out of date, old fashioned, uneducated opinions on this issue. If these female recruits can get the job done, and everything I’ve seen so far from them says that they can, then they are going to serve with the LAPD, on the front lines, just like their male counterparts. Like it, love it, make your minds up to it, because women are being heavily recruited across this country for law enforcement. And that is based on the fact that violent crime is going up, fast, in this country, not just here in Los Angeles...mostly against women. And think about this as you go out on patrol today...this is going to happen whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not, and from what I’ve seen of the latest class of recruits, some of those women could already make you boys in here look like security guards at the mall. Now...if any of you have a problem with the direction this department is taking, feel free to turn in your badge now. If not, then get ready, because we have three female recruits that will be joining our shift today.” Most of the police officers sighed and nodded. Two of them however stood up...Officer Roger Banks, and Officer Kevin Pruitt. Both of them stalked towards Sgt. Pierce, their badges already unclipped from their uniforms. Sgt. Pierce frowned at them. “What I expected. Get out of here, go home, good luck.” The two officers handed their watch commander their badges, and then stormed out of the roll call room. Kevin glared at the female recruits as he headed for the locker room. Sgt. Pierce looked around the roll call room. “Anybody else?” He looked around the room, pleased that the rest of his team seem to have accepted it. “Ok. Officer Parker, bring them in please.” Greg nodded, and stood up. He walked to the door opened it and looked out. He saw three women standing outside...two of them looking around uneasily. The third one, the tallest one, with the long red hair that was pulled back into a bun, and eyes the color of milk chocolate, smirked at him. “Sgt. Pierce is ready. Go sit at the empty table, front row, on the right.” The three women nodded, and hurried inside. Rowan was the last one to walk into the room, and she sauntered down the aisle like she owned the place. Greg couldn’t help but notice her...all of her. But he quickly forced those thoughts out of his mind, because with his luck, the tall, gorgeous, brown eyed redhead with freckles on her face would probably wind up being his rookie.

Sgt. Pierce nodded as the three female recruits sat down. “Ladies...welcome to the Adam shift of the LAPD, Mid Wilshire. I’m your watch commander, Sgt. David Pierce. You’ll each be assigned to a training officer. Officer Mike Martin, you’ll be training Officer Amy Gibbs. Officer Dean Logan, you’ll be training Officer Sherry Sims. And Officer Greg Parker...you get our hotshot, Officer Rowan McElroy.” The other two women seated next to Rowan had nodded stiffly, but hadn’t looked around the room. Rowan however looked back over her shoulder until she saw the nametag she was looking for...Parker. She smiled at him, as she noted he looked like the typical California surfer dude...blond hair as yellow as the sun, bright blue eyes that she suspected twinkled when he smiled, and naturally tan...and definitely tall, probably over 6 feet by Rowan’s estimate. Greg softened his glare, and nodded at her. Officer Parker cleared his throat. “Excuse me Sgt...why is my Boot already nicknamed Hotshot?” Sgt. Pierce smiled at him. “Because she arrested a purse snatcher on her way to work this morning.” Greg raised his eyebrows at that. Well, obviously his rookie wasn’t afraid to throw down...but he damn well wasn’t going to tolerate anyone, male or female, trying to play hero cop every second of every shift. Sgt. Pierce sighed. “Ok...that’s it. Be safe everyone. Ladies...good luck on your first shift as members of the LAPD.” 

Rowan and Greg had both hit the locker rooms before their shift. Greg showed her where to collect their gear before every shift, and headed out the exit that would take them to the patrol cars, with Rowan quickly on his heels. He made Rowan carry most of the gear, while he carried the car keys...and one of the bags. “I have three rules, Boot.” Rowan nodded, her red hair glinting in the sunlight. He tried not to notice. “1. If you don’t understand something, or you have a question, ask me. You’re not just here to watch me do my job, you’re here to learn.” Rowan nodded, as they continued to walk through the parking lot. “2. I’m not here to babysit you. My job is to see if you have the chops for this job. You don’t get to play hero cop, but you also don’t get to sit around while I do all the work.” Rowan nodded again, as they reached their patrol car, and Greg unlocked the trunk for them to stow their gear. “3. If we get into some kind of trouble, and something happens to me, like it or not, you have to take control of the situation. Radio for backup, immediately.” They stowed their gear in the trunk as Greg slammed the trunk closed. Greg looked at Rowan. “If you’re ready, Officer McElroy, let’s go meet Los Angeles.” Rowan smiled and nodded as she climbed into the passenger seat of their patrol car. 

It took Rowan three hours before she began questioning if she had lost her mind. Officer Parker was an excellent cop, she could tell that within the first hour of the shift, which had been incredibly busy. But he was super intense, not that friendly, and seemed intent on making her feel stupid, inept, and unable to do this job. Rowan was lost in her own thoughts when she was suddenly thrown forward, and felt the seat belt digging into her skin through her uniform, as Greg had slammed on his breaks of their shop. He was yelling at the top of his lungs. “I’ve just been shot, McElroy, where are we? Where’s the nearest hospital? C’mon, McElroy, I’m bleeding out over here!” Rowan frantically glanced around, but didn’t see any street signs anywhere. Greg sighed, as he frowned at her. “And that’s what happens when you don’t pay attention. I’m dead, because you have no idea where the hell you are, so you have no idea where the nearest hospital is. Thanks for killing me on your first shift, McElroy. Get out of the shop, now!” Rowan frowned at him, and Greg yelled at her again. “Are you deaf McElroy, I said get out of the shop, and I mean right now!” Rowan unbuckled her seat belt, and threw the door open; she jumped out of the car and shut the door. She stared at her T.O, like he’d lost his mind. “Now what?” Greg sent her a menacing smile. “Now you run right beside me until you figure out where the hell we are. As soon as you see a street sign and can tell me where we are you, you can get back in.” Then he took off and Rowan swore. She quickly ran after the patrol car, and her redheaded temper ignited as she saw him glance in his side mirror and grin. She had to run five blocks before she finally saw a street sign. 

Later that night, Rowan lay in bed, barely able to move. Even a long hot shower hadn’t helped. Her T.O. Officer Greg Parker, was insane. She had so been looking forward to this part of her training...and now she was ready to quit altogether. Rowan wrote down in her journal about her first day on the job on the streets of L.A...and was crying so hard she could barely see what she wrote. But damnit, she wasn’t going to quit. There was no way in hell she was going back to her old job..working at one of the grocery stores her parents’ owned was not what she wanted her future to be. They had been heartbroken when she’d told them...and then they’d been terrified when she’d told them she wanted to be a police officer. But she was going to stick with it, no matter what Officer Parker did to her. Rowan finally admitted to herself that even though Officer Parker was a little nuts, she could definitely learn a lot from him. 

PRESENT DAY  
Lucy looked at her glass of wine and realized it was almost empty. She couldn’t help but laugh at what she’d just read. “Wow...Officer Parker sure sounds a lot like someone I know.” Tim frowned at her...Lucy had been reading aloud to him what was in the journal. “Who does he remind you of?” Lucy gaped at Tim. “Are you serious right now?” But she could tell from the look on Tim’s face that he was in fact serious. “You don’t see yourself in him...just a little bit?” Tim rolled his eyes. “Of course not. I never made you do those things.” Lucy laughed so hard she was crying. “Oh please, Tim! You did EXACTLY those same things to me that he did to Rowan.” Tim sighed. “Ok...maybe one or two things. But I never made you cry at the end of your first shift.” Lucy just shook her head and laughed as she got up to take her wine glass to the kitchen. She came back quickly and got back into bed. “You want to read some more?” Tim yawned and shook his head. “No. I have to meet Nolan, and Jase at the hardware store tomorrow morning.” Lucy sighed. “Ok.” She wanted to read some more, but she was pretty tired. She had not been feeling like herself lately and would be glad to get her doctor visit over with tomorrow. She laid the journal on the nightstand and turned off the light. She snuggled under the covers, and squeaked as she felt Tim roll on top of her. The moonlight that had filtered in through the windows provided just enough of a glow for her to see the troubled look on his face. “Boot...did I really make you cry at the end of your first shift?” Lucy nodded. “Yes...you did.” She smiled at him as she caressed his cheek. She pulled his face down and kissed him deeply. “But you made me cry last night for an entirely different reason…” She rolled her hips against him, and Tim could feel how wet she already was. Last night he’d given her such an intense orgasm, she had actually cried. Tim smiled against her mouth, as his tongue played with hers. “I can make you cry like that again if you want…” Lucy nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh yeah...I want.” Tim kissed her deeply as they both moaned, the journal on the nightstand momentarily forgotten.


	3. I'll Give You The Guts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's health problems continue to cause issues for her...especially when it's time to sleep. She decides to continue reading Rowan's journal. Rowan starts to show what she's made of...both as a cop, and as a partner, to her T.O., Officer Greg Parker.

Lucy woke up around 2am. She was having the worst bout of insomnia lately...and she was starving. Which made no sense, since at dinnertime, she was so bloated and so achy that she didn’t feel hungry at all. She sighed, and wondered what the hell was wrong with her. At first she’d thought she was pregnant again, but she’d taken three home pregnancy tests in the last week, and they were all negative. She tossed the covers aside and quietly slipped out of bed, not wanting to wake Tim up. Thankfully they were both off, so, she wouldn’t be dragging at work. She grabbed Rowan’s journal off the nightstand and crept out of the bedroom, quietly closing the door. She realized she’d left her cell phone on the coffee table, and saw a missed text from Grayson. She read it and smiled. He had gone out on a date with Officer Ruthie Grace, a girl he’d gone through the academy with, and apparently the date had gone well. Lucy was happy for him, and happy that he seemed to finally be getting over Jules...a detective with the LAPD who had since packed up and moved to Boston. Lucy put her phone back on the coffee table, turned on the lamp that sat on the side table next to her, and opened Rowan’s journal. She picked up where she had left off and was soon enthralled with the story of Detective Rowan McElroy.

June 9, 1980  
Rowan was in the break room, glaring at Officer Todd Fowler. Officer Fowler was making the moves on Rowan, none too subtly either. Rowan’s T.O. Officer Greg Parker, had just walked into the break room, and witnessed the tail end of the argument. Rowan held onto her temper. “Let me by, Officer Fowler, my T.O. will be looking for me.” Officer Fowler leered at her. “He won’t give a damn if you’re ten minutes late, McElroy. Just enough time for us to have some fun.” He stepped towards her, and Rowan started to put her hands up and shoved him...but her T.O.’s voice stopped her. “Fowler! McElroy! What the hell is going on in here?” Officer Fowler turned around. “Nothing, Parker. Just meeting your boot. She tried to put her hands on me, did you see that? You must have a lot of fun with her on shift, huh?” Rowan’s face now matched her bright red hair, and Greg knew he had to take control of the situation, now. “Fowler, leave my Boot alone. Besides, your ex wife is waiting for you in Sgt. Pierce’s office.” Fowler leered at Rowan once more before leaving the break room. Greg watched him go before turning around to scowl at Rowan. “Not very smart, McElroy.” Rowan raised her eyebrows in surprise and gasped. “You think that was my fault? I was coming in here to get coffee for us, just like you told me to! He was hitting on me, and wasn’t taking no for an answer!” Rowan was seething with anger now, and Greg walked up to her, pouring a cup of coffee for him, and then one for her and handing it to her. “Yeah...I know what he was doing. He’s a shit. But McElroy, you better wise up fast. I know it sucks, and it’s wrong, but there’s a lot of the old guard still here in the LAPD. They don’t want you, or any other woman here, training for their jobs. You need to be doing it twice as better, and twice as cleaner, than shits like Fowler. It’s not right, but that’s just the way it is until attitudes change around here...and believe me, change is coming. There’s a lot more people on your side than you might realize. But you still need to play it smart. If you had put your hands on Fowler, especially before I got in here, it would have been your word against his. Who do you think they’ll believe...a female rookie or a male police officer who’s been on the force for five years?” Rowan scowled at her T.O. “So, let me get this straight. You want a rookie who doesn’t have the guts to fight back?” Greg sipped his coffee and glared at her. “No...I want a rookie who’s got the guts not to fight back, and not to take the bait when it’s practically thrown into her mouth. Fowler was baiting you. Don’t take the bait...from him or anyone. You’re better than that. And I would normally never say this to a rookie...especially on the second day...but...you’re different.” Greg shifted on his feet and looked away, before looking back at her. “I think you’re going to make one hell of a good cop, McElroy. But that will never happen if you let shits like Fowler push your buttons and get you thrown out of here before your career even has a chance to start.” Rowan guzzled her coffee, earning a half smile from Greg, which he quickly hid. She looked at him, squaring her shoulders. “The LAPD gave me a uniform. You can give me the training.” Greg nodded. “Ok...and what will you give me, McElroy?” Rowan sent him a smug smile. “I’ll give you the guts. Now, let’s go, we’re burning daylight.” Rowan waltzed out of the break room as if she was the T.O. and Greg was her rookie. And Greg couldn’t deny if that didn’t put a little bit more pep in his step than normal. 

It was closing in on lunch time, and Rowan and Greg were headed for their lunch break. They pulled up to a restaurant, and got out of their shop when Greg sighed. “Well...looks like lunch will be late.” Rowan looked at Greg. “Why is that?” Greg sighed. “See that guy standing by the front entrance? He’s a known drug dealer. He’s not supposed to be anywhere on this property. The restaurant has already banned him from eating there, and being anywhere on the property. C’mon...let’s get rid of him.” Greg parked the shop in a parking spot by the front door and got out, just as Rowan did. Greg frowned at the guy, whose name was Billy Sidell. “Move it along, Billy, you know you’re not supposed to be here.” Billy laughed. “Free country, Parker. And damn...who’s this fine thing you got with you today?” Rowan frowned at him. Greg looked between Rowan and Billy. “I don’t think she likes you Billy. Get out of here so we don’t have to arrest you.” Billy ignored Greg and sauntered up to Rowan, who scowled at him. Rowan quickly sized him up...Billy was a good 6 inches taller than her, and looked to be in decent shape. He was also built like an ox. This might be a little tough...but she’d handle it. Rowan glanced quickly at Greg, who raised his eyebrows. Time for him to see what Rowan was made of. Rowan looked back at Billy. “Mr. Sidell...last warning. Leave the property, now, or you’ll be arrested for trespassing.” Billy got right in her face. “Mr. Sidell...aren’t you sweet. Well, I’m not ready to leave, so, if you want me to leave, you’re going to have to make me.” Rowan rolled her eyes, and started to turn him around to cuff him...and that’s when the fight started. 

Billy grabbed Rowan and whirled her around, shoving her backward into the building. Greg frowned at her. “Keep your hands up, Boot! Don’t let him get you on the ground.” Billy was strong as an ox, and every move Rowan tried on him, Billy seemed ready for. Just then, he whipped out a switchblade from his pocket. Greg was about to intervene, but never got the chance. Rowan roared like a lioness, and twisted, then rammed her elbow into Billy’s face. He stumbled back and then Rowan kicked the knife out of his hand. She grabbed his shoulder, and threw him to the ground, and got on top of him, one knee on his back, as she pinned his arms behind him. She whipped the cuffs out, and snapped them on him, before dragging Billy to his feet. Greg nodded in approval. “Not bad, Boot.” Then Greg shook his head and got in Billy’s face. “Billy, Billy, Billy...all you had to do was leave. Now you’re under arrest for trespassing, assaulting a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest. The list will go on I’m sure...and now we don’t get much time for lunch. Not a good way to stay off my shit list, Billy.” Rowan put Billy in the back of the patrol car, and slammed the door. Greg smiled at her. “Congrats on your first arrest, Boot. Though it shouldn’t have taken you that long to get him under control, considering he’s drunk.” Rowan rolled her eyes before she could stop herself, knowing she’d probably pay for it later...but she didn’t care. She’d made her first arrest...and she was damn proud of herself. 

It was almost the end of shift, when Greg hit the lights on the patrol car. The car in front of them was swerving in and out of lanes. “Damn drunk driver...probably celebrating the weekend early.” Rowan looked at Greg, confused. “It’s Wednesday.” Greg rolled his eyes as he glanced at her. “Exactly.” He glanced back at the car as it pulled over, and swore. “Shit….of course.” He got out of their shop before saying anything to Rowan and slammed the door, making her jump. Rowan got out of the car when Greg turned around and barked at her. “Get back in the damn car, Boot!” Rowan frowned at him, but got back in their shop and shut the door. Greg seemed to be arguing with the driver. He opened the car and pulled the driver out...and Rowan noticed it was a woman, shorter than she was, with brown hair. She was clearly drunk. Greg was yelling at the woman, as if he knew her, making Rowan even more confused. Greg then walked the woman back to the patrol car, and put her in the back of it...not in cuffs, Rowan had noticed. Then Greg went around to Rowan’s side of their shop and opened her door. “Get out, Boot.” Rowan sighed as she got out. Greg sighed as he closed the door. “Don’t ask questions, just get in the car and follow me.” Rowan looked between the two cars. “Ummm...which car?” Greg snapped at her before he could help himself. “The patrol car, Boot!” Shaking his head he then stormed off, and got into the car he had just pulled over. Rowan got behind the wheel of the patrol car, and proceeded to follow him to a nearby apartment complex. It was a dump, in Rowan’s opinion. She followed Greg through the complex, until they reached the very back. He parked the car he was in and Rowan pulled up beside him and parked. She got out of the patrol car, just as Greg came up to it. “Stay here, Boot.” He then got the now passed out woman out of the back of the patrol car. Rowan watched, openmouthed, as Greg carried the passed out woman to an apartment. He unlocked the door, and went inside, slamming the door with his foot. Rowan glanced around...unsure what to do. They hadn’t covered anything like this in the academy. 

About ten minutes later, Greg finally came out of the apartment. He stalked back to the patrol car, and glared at Rowan. “Get in, Boot.” Rowan just nodded, and started to get back in the driver’s side. Greg rolled his eyes. “Wrong side, Boot.” Rowan sighed and hurred around to the passenger side of the patrol car and climbed in. Greg got in the driver’s side and slammed the door. He closed his eyes, trying to hold onto his temper. He took several deep breaths before looking at Rowan. ‘Whatever you’re about to say Boot, don’t.” Rowan just ignored him. “Who was that? And what was that? Why did we pull a clearly drunken driver over, and instead of taking them to jail, we gave her a free ride home? How in the hell do I even fill out the paperwork on this?” Greg sadly looked at her before looking out the windshield, and staring at the apartment he had just come out of. “That was my ex wife...my soon to be ex wife, that is. And there’s no paperwork on this.” Rowan rolled her eyes. “You cannot be serious.” Greg turned to glare at her. “I’m dead serious, Boot. No paperwork on this, at all.” Rowan looked at him sympathetically. “Officer Parker…” Greg glared at her. “I don’t want to hear it, Boot.” Rowan rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re going to anyway!” Greg turned and looked at her...shocked that his rookie was speaking to him that way. He glared at her. “What exactly are you going to tell me, Boot? That I broke the rules? That I put my career in jepoardy? Heard it all before, thanks.” Rowan sighed. “No...I wasn’t going to tell you any of that. I was going to tell you, you can’t fix a drunk. You can’t change a drunk. And the more you try, the more you’ll fail, and the only person you’ll wind up changing is you...and it won’t be for the better.” Rowan looked at him then, pleadingly. “I’m not going to rat you out...this isn’t my business. But eventually someone will find out, although not from me. Is your career, your life, worth her next empty bottle? I promise you, it’s not.” Greg looked at her then...and not as his rookie. “Who?” Rowan sighed as she looked away from him. “My mom. Dad’s pulled her out of I don’t know how many bottles, out of her own vomit, sometimes out of her own blood, like the time she was so drunk she fell through the glass door of her shower.” Greg sighed, as he looked at her. “I’m sorry, McElroy.” Rowan just nodded. “Dad loves her, won’t ever leave her. But he’s ruined his entire life trying to keep her from hitting rock bottom. He doesn’t understand that’s where mom lives now. You keep doing what you’re doing for your ex wife, you’re going to wind up in the same situation. And that’s all I’m going to say on the subject.” 

PRESENT DAY  
Lucy’s eyes had widened in shock and admiration. Damn, but Rowan had some balls on her. Lucy couldn’t ever have imagined speaking to Tim so openly and freely as his rookie. She thought back and realized she had, a couple of times, and smiled at the memory. But Rowan definitely took it to the extreme more than Lucy had. Lucy felt her eyes drifting closed, and fell asleep with Rowan’s journal across her chest. 

Tim woke up at around 7am, and reached for Lucy...and was surprised to find the bed empty and the sheets cold. He frowned and sat up in bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he tossed the covers aside and padded out to the living room...a soft smile hitting his face. There was his Lucy, asleep on his new couch, with the journal across her chest. The smile fell away from his face and was replaced with worry. Lucy hadn’t been herself lately. She was suffering with horrible bouts of insomnia, her appetite was crazy, her energy level was gone, and her emotions were all over the place. She was showing all the symptoms of pregnancy...except she wasn’t pregnant. Tim was worried something was seriously wrong with her. He knew she had a doctor appointment later that morning, and had wanted to go with her, but Lucy had insisted on going alone. He walked over to the couch and sat down, gently taking the journal off of her chest and laying it on the coffee table. Then he pulled her into his arms, and felt her groan as she snuggled down into him. He wondered if it had taken Officer Greg Parker as long to fall for his rookie as it had taken Tim to fall for Lucy. Then Tim realized it hadn’t taken him long at all to fall for her...it had just taken him a while to admit that he had.


	4. All Is Not As It Seems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy visits the doctor and is left reeling from her diagnosis. She shares her diagnosis and prognosis with Tim, who reassures her that in spite of that, he loves her deeply and still wants to marry her. Lucy meets Grayson's new girlfriend. And Rowan meets her T.O's next door neighbor...and immediately realizes what he is.

Lucy sat in her car in the parking lot of L.A. Wellness Center For Women, staring out the windshield of her car. She had just gotten the results from her doctor about what was going on with her. Well, at least she had a name for the disease she was suffering from...Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, also known as PCOS. She and her doctor had decided on a treatment plan. She tried not to throw herself a pity party...overall it could be worse. The disease she had wasn’t life threatening, although it did elevate her risk for one day having certain kinds of cancers, as well as diabetes. It would also mean in order to control her symptoms, along with the prescription meds she was now on, she’d have to make some lifestyle changes as well. But she’d still be able to lead a normal life, even though there’s no cure for PCOS. But the one thing that this disease could affect, and affect greatly, was her ability to have children. And after already losing one baby, she had realized how badly she wanted to be a mother, and how badly she wanted to be able to carry her own baby...but not just her baby...she realized how badly she wanted to carry Tim’s baby, and create a life, or two, with him. Now that dream, while not impossible, would be much more difficult to make happen. She sighed as she started her car, wondering how to tell Tim. 

As Lucy was driving to their new house in Echo Park, Tim had just finished helping John bring in the last of their first big load from the hardware store. Tim stared at the mess that John had turned the kitchen into. John smiled at Tim. “Looks, great, doesn’t it?” Tim rolled his eyes. “Nolan...it looks like a drug raid just happened in my kitchen.” John laughed. “No, no, Tim, you just have to see the possibilities. Your kitchen is now an empty canvas, and we are now the artists, who will bring this canvas to life.” Tim smirked at John, before glancing around the kitchen again. “And that, Nolan, is exactly why you’re in charge of this, and not me...because I don’t see an empty canvas, I see a huge mess. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking buying this place.” Nolan laughed as he pulled out a tape measurer. “You were thinking what a great life you can have here with Lucy; the Christmas mornings with the kids, the romantic dinners at your fabulous with Lucy at the breakfast bar that I’m going to build, when the kids are older, the fabulous parties you’ll be throwing here...including my party for making detective first grade.” Tim looked at Nolan then, surprise on his face. “Yeah? You want to be a detective?” John shrugged his shoulders. “I think so...don’t get me wrong, I like the patrol work, but, after everything that went down with Rosalind and Nick, and the hunt for Lucy, I really loved that kind of police work.” Tim nodded at him. “You’d be better as a detective than as a patrol officer, Nolan.” John laughed. “I know I would...maybe someday.” John started measuring the wall, marking different spots on it with a pencil. 

Just then, Lucy walked into the kitchen from the back door...and stared. “Oh...this is great! Wow, you two have gotten a lot done already!” The kitchen cabinets were now all gone, and sitting in Nolan’s garage. He was going to redo all of them, instead of buying new ones, which would save Tim and Lucy a boatload of money. All the carpet had been ripped up in the living and dining rooms, and tossed into the dumpster that was now sitting in the circular driveway. Tim walked to her and took her in his arms. He kissed her, before turning her around as they faced Nolan. Tim looked down at her and grinned. “I ripped the carpet up...Nolan took down the cabinets. And that’s as far as we’ve gotten.” Lucy looked at Tim and smiled...but he noticed the smile didn’t reach her eyes. But before he could ask her about it, Grayson, his new girlfriend, Officer Ruthie Grace, Jackson, and Sterling strolled in. Sterling was carrying a big box of chinese takeout, Grayson was carrying in a cooler, loaded with cold drinks, and Ruthie was carrying a box of paper goods.

Nolan smiled at them all as they came in. “Awesome...I don’t know about Bradford, but, I’m starving.” Tim nodded his head. “Oh, I could definitely eat...you hungry, Boot?” He looked at Lucy, concern written all over his face, but she shook her head. “No, I’m good.” Tim frowned at her. “You didn’t eat breakfast this morning either.” Lucy glared at him. “Not now...please.” Tim just sighed and nodded his head. Ruthie, Jackson, and Sterling were all getting the food out of the box, and organizing it. Lucy took the opportunity to pull Grayson to the side, and started grilling him. “Soooo….” Grayson shook his head and laughed at her. “Yes, I’m dating her, no, it’s not very serious yet...but it could be. And yes, I talked to Jules...last night actually.” Lucy sighed and nodded, giving him a side hug. “I’m sorry, Grayson. She called me last night too...I still can’t believe she’s getting married.” Grayson just shrugged his shoulders. “As long as she’s happy, that’s all I care about. Besides, I’m not looking for that right now, and neither is Ruthie. But I do enjoy myself when I’m with her. And Cheyenne likes her...so, it’s all good.” Lucy laughed at that. “You need Cheyenne’s approval for your dating life now?” Grayson rolled his eyes. “Cheyenne’s like my kid sister...of course I want her to get along with my girlfriend.” Lucy smiled, and couldn’t help but tease him. “Oh...the same way you get along with her boyfriends...right?” Grayson glared at Lucy. “Hey...maybe if she actually dated someone who wasn’t a total loser I’d get along with them better. Besides, I’m not the only one who doesn’t like any of her boyfriends that she’s had so far...Bradford hasn’t liked any of them either.” Lucy nodded and sighed. “Yeah, I know. Hopefully she’ll find a good one soon.” Grayson frowned at that. “No...hopefully she’ll just concentrate on her studies and volleyball...she doesn’t need a boyfriend right now.” Lucy shook her head and smiled, knowning there was much more behind that statement even if it hadn’t dawned on Grayson or Cheyenne yet. Her thoughts drifted back to Rowan, and the journals. She wondered what was to come in Rowan’s story; she’d soon find out.

Later that evening, Tim and Lucy were sitting on his deck, as Tim processed what Lucy had told him about her diagnosis and prognosis. He was so relieved that she didn’t have anything life threatening, like cancer. And apparently there were treatments for her disease, and she’d still be able to lead an almost totally normal life, so that was another huge weight off of his shoulders. Still though, he wanted to have a family with Lucy as much as she wanted to have one with him...and it hurt more than he thought it would that they may not be able to have children together. Lucy blinked back the tears...she knew what she was about to say to Tim would upset him, but she felt it had to be said. “Tim...I know you love me, and you know I love you. But being with me...it could mean the end of you, the end of the Bradfords. I know how much you want to be a father…” Tim closed his eyes and shook his head, and struggled to hold onto his temper. “Don’t even think about finishing that thought, Boot, or you really will piss me off. Christ, Lucy, I’m not marrying you because you may be able to give me children. I’m marrying you because I love you. If we’re able to have kids, great...if not, still great. Besides, there are other ways to have kids. We could always adopt, or hire a surrogate, or try fertility treatments, whatever.” Lucy sighed and got up and walked to the railing of the deck. She looked out over their backyard, where she could so easily picture pushing a little girl on a swing. She got lost in her fantasy, and closed her eyes as she felt Tim come up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them. Then he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her back against him. “I love you, Boot. The only way you’re getting rid of me is if you’ve suddenly decided you don’t love me anymore and don’t want to marry me...which will really suck since we just bought a house.” He kissed her temple, as Lucy smiled, and folded her arms across his. “I do love you, Tim, and of course I want to marry you. I was just trying to be fair to you, that’s all.” Tim sighed into her hair. “What would be fair to me if you’d learn to drink black coffee so I don’t have to smell your nasty herbal tea in the mornings.” Lucy laughed as Tim had hoped, and turned in his arms to face him. “Deal with it, Bradford.” Tim grinned at her, and leaned towards her, his voice a raspy whisper. “You know, you once told me that when you were really were my Boot...and you paid for it, remember?” Lucy smiled at him as she nibbled on his lips, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Mmm...yes, I do remember. I couldn’t feel my arms for the rest of the shift after you made me do 60 pushups.” Tim smiled against her mouth as he kissed her. “You didn’t make it to 60...I counted. You didn’t even make it to 50.” Lucy kissed him deeper then, pulling him as close as she could get him, and made him moan into her mouth. “Are you going to make me pay for it again?” Tim picked her up in his arms, never breaking the kiss, and strolled inside, shutting the door to the deck with his foot. He carried her into what was now their bedroom, and dropped her on the bed, quickly following her down onto the mattress. Lucy loved the way she was paying for having a smart mouth, as Tim greedily took her as the sun was setting over Los Angeles. 

Lucy shot awake, and grabbed her phone, checking the time. It wasn’t even midnight yet. She and Tim had spent the rest of the evening wearing each other out...they had even missed dinner. She realized she was starving, as she hadn’t eaten all day. She glanced at Tim, who was sound asleep. She threw on a tee shirt and quietly left the room, shutting the door. She padded into the kitchen and pondered over what to eat. She decided on fruit and cheese. She sliced up a pear, and then sliced some pepperjack cheese to go with it. She put the pear and cheese slices on a small plate and then poured a glass of milk. She had just carried her snack into the living room, and was getting comfortable on the couch when Tim opened the door. He frowned at Lucy. “Boot...didn’t the doctors give you anything to help you sleep?” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Not something to specifically help me sleep, no. The meds they did give me will eventually help me sleep. But this time I couldn’t sleep because I’m freaking starving.” Tim rolled his eyes. “That’s what happens when you skip breakfast...and lunch, and dinner.” Lucy smirked at him. “I may have missed all of the important meals of the day, but as I recall, I did get dessert.” Tim smiled at her, and came to join her on the couch. He rearranged her until she was snugly in his arms, and they both snuggled under the blanket. He reached for a slice of pear, as Lucy smacked his hand. “This is mine!” Tim grinned at her, and kissed her neck. “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours, Boot.” Tim then popped a slice of cheese into his mouth, and spied Rowan’s journal on the coffee table. “Well, since we’re both awake, let’s see what Rowan’s going to do now.” Lucy eagerly nodded, as Tim reached for Rowan’s journal, and opened it to the page Lucy had bookmarked. 

October 30, 1980  
Rowan hadn’t made any entries in her journal between the first of June, and the end of October, because she’d been too damn busy proving herself. And she had definitely proven herself. She had earned the respect, however grudgingly given, of many of her male co workers. Her T.O., Officer Greg Parker, was still a huge pain in her ass, but, she was learning a lot from him, and they had found their footing as rookie and T.O., even if that footing was sometimes shaky. 

Rowan was running out the door to work when her landline telephone rang. She almost didn’t answer it, but, she figured she should...her mom might be in trouble yet again. Rowan ran to her telephone and answered it on the fourth ring. “Hello?” She heard a sigh of relief on the other end...and frowned. She’d know that sigh anywhere...why in the world was her training officer calling her at home? “Glad I caught you, McElroy...listen, I need a favor.” Rowan frowned more deeply...her T.O needed a favor from her? “Umm...sure. What is it?” Greg scowled out the window of his small house as he looked at his truck...which had a flat tire. “Can you come pick me up and give me a ride into work? I’ve got a flat tire, and the spare is flat too. I actually don’t live that far from you, it would be on the way.” Rowan sighed. “As long as I don’t get punished for this, because if I do give you a ride into work it will make me late for work.” Greg rolled his eyes...she was the most argumentative rookie he’d ever had. “McElroy...I’m not going to punish you for being to late for work for helping me out. I will however be happy to punish you for arguing with me. If it’s too much trouble, don’t worry about it.” Greg started to disconnect the call...before he heard Rowan’s voice. “No, no, it’s fine, sir. I was actually just walking out the door when you called. What’s your address?” Greg rattled off his address to her and Rowan sighed with relief. He didn’t live far away at all, and his house really was the way to Mid Wilshire. “I’ll be there in ten minutes, sir.” Greg smiled...and he was glad Rowan couldn’t see him smiling. “Sounds good...thanks, McElroy.” He hung up the phone before she could say anything else.

Eight minutes later, Rowan pulled up in front of Greg’s house. Greg whistled as he saw the car Rowan was driving...he was sitting outside on the front steps, talking to his neighbor, Jeffrey Scott. Rowan parked the car and got out, and was walking up the stoned lined path through Greg’s front yard. Greg couldn’t help but smile at her. “Nice wheels, McElroy.” Rowan glanced at her baby that she called Luna...Luna was a blue 1966 Ford Mustang GT Convertible. She looked back at Greg and couldn’t hide her grin. “Thanks...her name is Luna. Dad bought her for me when I graduated from the academy...she was a wreck when I got her, but I fixed her up.” Greg frowned at that. “You know about cars?” Rowan rolled her eyes. “Of course I do...and you clearly don’t if your tire and spare are both flat.” Greg frowned at that as his neighbor Jeff busted out laughing. He then looked back at Greg. “Yeah, I see what you mean, neighbor.” Jeff then turned to Rowan and held out his hand. “Hi...I’m Jeff Scott...I live next door to this guy.” Rowan smiled and shook his hand...and instantly went on alert. She couldn’t say what it was, but when she looked into the eyes of Jeff Scott, all she saw was pure evil. And she could clearly see that Jeff could tell that she knew on some primal level exactly what he was. His smile looked genuine, but, it turned Rowan’s blood ice cold. She cleared her throat as she dropped his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Scott. We should probably get going, sir.” Rowan was looking at Greg, who nodded. “Yep, we definitely should. See you around Jeff.” Jeff just nodded and waved, and wondered how in the hell the fiery redhead who had never laid eyes on him before could immediately tell what he was, when his next door neighbor, who was a veteran police officer, one he had known for years, had no clue who he was. He went back to his house and sat down on his front steps, watching them drive away. He wondered what he needed to do about Rowan. 

Rowan was driving them into work as she glanced at Greg. “So...what’s the story with your neighbor?” Greg barked out a laugh...leave it to her to notice. “He’s just an odd sort of guy...that’s all.” Rowan rolled her eyes. “He’s several beers short of a six pack is what he is. You don’t get a bad vibe from him?” Greg frowned at her. “Oh, what...and you do with all your experience at evaluating people? He’s just an odd duck, that’s all. He introduced me to my girlfriend, Lydia Fuller, so, he’s not all bad. They used to work together.” Rowan frowned at that...she didn’t know Greg had a girlfriend, and she was shocked at the intense jealousy she felt at that. She silently berated herself for her completely inappropriate reaction. Greg sighed as he looked out the window. “Ex girlfriend that is...she didn’t like me helping out Susie, my ex wife.” Rowan laughed at that. “Well, I can understand that.” Greg just nodded. “I guess. But seriously, Jeff’s not a bad guy. He’s got a cabin in Big Bear Lake that he let Lydia and I use whenever we wanted...always said he never had time to go up there.” Rowan mulled that over...something seemed slightly off about that, but, she didn’t say anything. She glanced in her side mirror. “What’s your not bad neighbor named Jeff do for work?” Greg glanced at her, and caught the way the early morning sun bounced off her hair, making her hair look like a sunrise. He forced himself to look away. “He’s a contractor. He tried to become a cop, but, he failed the psyc eval.” Rowan rolled her eyes. “Told you...he’s a few beers sort of a six pack.” Greg just shook his head as they drove into work. His neighbor was an odd duck...but Greg had never gotten a dangerous vibe from Jeff...until now.


	5. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy is shocked to learn how much she and Rowan seem to have in common, as Rowan also went up against a serial killer when she was rookie. Rowan and Greg begin to acknowledge that they both have feelings for each other, but both refuse to act on them. And Rowan's instincts about Jeffrey Scott prove to be correct.

Lucy gasped as she looked up from the pages of Rowan’s journal and looked at Tim. “Rowan met Jeffrey Scott? THE Jeffrey Scott...as in Jeffrey Scott, the Big Bear Lake Killer?” Tim raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Yeah...you didn’t know that? I thought you knew her story, Boot?” Lucy shook her head. “I know part of her story...I mean obviously I know Rowan’s name, anybody that’s ever worked for the LAPD knows who she is. But I had no idea she tangled with Jeffrey Scott when she was just a rookie!” Tim pulled Lucy close to him. “Boot...it’s what gave her her claim to fame. I don’t know how much of her story is written in these journals, but you should prepare yourself. Her story is really traumatic.” Lucy looked into Tim’s troubled eyes. “Is it as bad as what I went through with Caleb?” Tim simply nodded. He reached for Rowan’s journal, and tried to take it from Lucy. “Maybe we shouldn’t read anymore…” Lucy rolled her eyes. “I can handle it Tim...you’re right here with me. Besides, I want to know what her story is...all of it. She deserves that.” Tim sighed...and pulled Lucy tighter into his chest. “Ok...but this isn’t exactly reading material to help you have sweet dreams, Boot.” Lucy smiled tenderly at him and kissed his cheek. “That’s what I have you for.” Tim softly smiled at her as he nuzzled her neck, before they continued reading.

October 30,1980  
It was the end of shift, and Rowan was sparring with Greg in the old gym at Mid Wilshire. “Not bad, Boot...but you have to keep your hands up. You have a bad habit of dropping them…” Before Greg could say anything else, he was suddenly on his back, looking at the ceiling, and a grinning Rowan was looking down at him. “You were saying?” Greg rolled his eyes as he got to his feet. Just then, another cop came into the gym. He looked at Rowan and grinned. “You put him on his ass again, McElroy?” Rowan smiled and nodded. Greg just rolled his eyes. “Crawford...why don’t you give it a go. I need a water break.” Greg wiped his face off with his shirt, and Rowan pretended not to notice how built her training officer was. Officer Joe Crawford traded places with Greg. “Sure...be happy to. Ok, McElroy...let’s see what you got.” Rowan began sparring with Crawford, who was almost as good as Greg...but not quite. Greg frowned at Rowan. “I told you, Boot...keep those hands up!” Crawford then sprang, and before she knew it, Rowan was the one on her back looking up at the ceiling. Crawfod just grinned at her. “Pretty good, McElroy...for a girl.” He jumped up and turned his back on her, and Rowan used that to her advantage...she kicked Crawford’s feet out from under him, and as he tumbled to the floor, she pinned him to the floor, with one arm behind his back. Crawford sighed. “Ok...ok...damn good, and not for a girl, just damn good.” Rowan grinned and jumped to her feet. Crawford got to his feet and grinned at Rowan. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?” Rowan grabbed her water bottle and took several gulps from it. “Catholic school.” Crawford laughed, as Rowan wiped her brow, catching her breath. Greg glanced at his wristwatch. “Ok...that’s enough for tonight.” Crawford and Rowan nodded. Crawford looked down at his watch. “Shit! I’m late. Gotta go...see you two tomorrow. Nice job, McElroy.” Crawford then ran out of the gym, with Rowan laughing as she watched him go. She glanced at Greg. “What’s he late for?” Greg rolled his eyes. “A date. One of your fellow recruits...Sherry I think is her name? Anyway, bad idea, dating your fellow cops. It never works out, and leads to nothing but drama, so don’t do it.” He was scowling at her now, and Rowan rolled her eyes. “Jeez, T.O, relax. I have no designs on anyone in this department.” Greg smirked at her. “Good to know. Ok...let’s go. You can drop me off at my house. I’ll probably need another ride into work tomorrow morning, if you don’t mind.” Rowan rolled her eyes as she walked past him. “I don’t mind...and on the way to your house, we’re stopping to buy you a new spare, or tire, I’ll put it on before I leave.” Greg glowered at her as they walked to her sweet ass ride. “I don’t need you to change my tire, McElroy, but thanks for offering.” They got to her car and Rowan unlocked the passenger side door, and even opened it for him, much to his amusement. “Clearly, you do need me to change it, or, you’d have already done it yourself.” She walked to the driver’s side as Greg shook his head, trying not to smile. They got in and Rowan started the car up. She glanced over at Greg. “That was nice what you did earlier today, for that lady and her kid.” Greg glanced at Rowan and just nodded. “That’s called law enforcement, Boot. Yes, technically, that lady was stealing. But all she was stealing was a 2 dollar loaf of bread, so she and her son could eat. That damn store owner could have shot her to death, all over a loaf of freaking bread. Buying her two loaves of bread seemed like the thing to do, instead of arresting her. Because if we had arrested her, then her kid would have gone into foster care. Plus, that guy who owns that store has run drugs out of that place before, so it’s not like he’s some law abiding, upstanding citizen.” Rowan just nodded, as Greg looked at her intently. “That’s the tricky line to walk Boot, and the only way to learn to walk it is with experience. You have to know when to follow the rules, and when to enforce them...but you also have to know when to break them.” Rowan nodded, and hoped she could learn to walk the line as well as Greg did. She smiled at him as she pulled out of her parking spot, and drove off. They stopped on the way to his house long enough for Greg to buy a spare and order a new tire for his truck. Then they drove off with his spare, with he and Rowan arguing the entire way to his house about her putting on the spare. 

Greg was sitting on his front step, drinking a beer, shaking his head, as he watched Rowan trying to change his flat tire, wondering how he’d manage to lose yet another argument with his rookie. Damn if she wasn’t the most stubborn, hardheaded woman he’d ever met. He had told her, repeatedly, that she didn’t need to put his new spare on his truck, and he’d even threatened to discipline her for it. But, because she was Rowan, she basically ignored him, and proceeded to try and put his new spare on his truck. Rowan wasn’t like any woman he’d ever met before in his life, and if they had met under different circumstances, he’d have done anything and everything just to get a date with her. She was gorgeous, she was smart, she was strong, she was brave, and she didn’t give up on anything...no matter how much pressure was put on her. She also didn’t care, at all, what anyone thought of her. She seemed to respect authority...but just barely, which made Greg smile into his beer. She was a fast learner, and he knew she was going to make one hell of a cop someday...and Greg was right. He had no idea at the time how right he was. Greg found himself toying with the idea of maybe asking her out after they were no longer rookie and T.O. But Rowan had given him zero indication that she was interested in him in that way, and the idea of her rejecting him scared him a lot more than it should have. He quickly pushed all of those thoughts out of his mind as he saw that Rowan was now standing in front of him, staring at him. “Greg!” Greg frowned at her. “Huh? What? Oh...um...what?” Rowan frowned at him, wondering where in the world he had gone. She had called his name three times before he’d heard her. She shook her head impatiently at him. “Good grief...way to pay attention to your surroundings, T.O. Anyway, I couldn’t get your spare on...your jack is a piece of crap. I’ve got to go, so, I’ll bring my jack over tomorrow and change it for you after shift. Can I use your bathroom before I leave?” Greg nodded as he took his ‘piece of crap’ jack from Rowan. “Sure. You want a beer?” Rowan looked at him, shocked, and confused...and had no idea what to do. She would have given anything to share a beer with Greg...or anything else for that matter. But he was her T.O., and she knew that would be completely inappropriate. He had probably just offered to be friendly, and she was misreading the entire situation, as she seemed to do with most men. She quickly shook her head no and walked past him, into his house, and she missed the disappointed look that had covered Greg’s face. Well, he’d gotten his answer. Clearly, she wasn’t interested in him, in any way. Greg walked in and shut the door. “Bathroom’s down that hallway, last door on the right.” Rowan nodded, as she glanced at a table that had pictures on it. She saw a picture of Greg, standing next to a pretty, short, brunette. They were standing in front of a cabin that had a gorgeous view of Big Bear Lake, and were smiling into the camera. Greg came up to her. “That’s Lydia, my ex girlfriend.” Rowan nodded, before looking back at Greg. He was close, closer than he should have been, and Rowan couldn’t look away from his amazing blue eyes...she could drown in those eyes of his. Greg glanced down at her mouth and let his gaze linger longingly before he looked back up into her chocolate brown eyes. He started to say something, but Rowan turned and fled down the hall and into the bathroom, quickly and firmly shutting the door. A slow smile broke out on Greg’s face. Oh yeah...she was definitely interested. Now he just had to find a way to control himself for another six months. Inwardly, Greg groaned. He glanced down at the picture of him and Lydia. He had no idea why he had kept it. Lydia had dumped him, hard, six months ago. He didn’t miss her, at all. He shook his head in frustration. It just figured that the one woman he wanted more than anything in this world, who was currently in his bathroom, was the one woman he couldn’t have. He sighed as he went into his kitchen, and grabbed another beer. 

Rowan stared at herself in the mirror in Greg’s bathroom. She was sternly lecturing herself. “You can’t do this...you can’t compromise everything you’ve worked for, not when you’re so close to the end. Don’t be stupid about this, McElroy, be smart!” Rowan closed her eyes...but all she could see was Greg’s face, and his amazing blue eyes, and the look of how much he wanted her. She had never had a man look at her the way her training officer did. Rowan sighed as she turned on the sink and splashed cold water on her face. She was being a coward and she knew it...plus, it’s not like she could hide in here forever. She had to get home. Rowan stepped out of the bathroom, and walked quickly down the hall. She glanced into the kitchen and saw Greg standing there, leaning against the counter, drinking a beer. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow, same time, ok?” Greg nodded, before setting his beer down on the kitchen counter. He started to walk to her; he could clearly see that Rowan was spooked. “Rowan...wait…” Rowan stared at him, surprised at the use of her first name, which was music to her ears. But she shook her head. “I really have to go Officer Parker. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rowan all but fled to the front door and yanked it open as Greg was jogging after her. “Rowan! Please, wait!” But Rowan had already made it to her car, and had jumped inside. She took off, driving faster than she should have, and sped away from Greg’s house. Greg sighed...damn. Rowan was halfway through her training, and he was absolutely not going to screw it up for her. Oh well...she had agreed to give him a ride to work tomorrow. He’d talk to her then, clear the air, and hope he hadn’t messed things up between them, and for her. He shut the door and locked it, and walked back into his kitchen...surprised to see Jeff standing there...Jeff had come in through the back door that led into the kitchen. Every cop instinct that Greg had suddenly came roaring to life, and he cautiously approached his oddball neighbor. “Jeff? Everything ok?” Greg came into the kitchen and Jeff waited for him to get closer. Jeff shook his head. “No….unfortunately, everything is not ok, Greg. I’m really sorry about this...really.” Greg frowned deeper at Jeff, not realizing until too late what was happening. Jeff slammed the hammer he had hidden behind his back into the side of Greg’s head. Greg crumpled to the floor, as Jeff frowned at him. 

Rowan sighed as she stepped out of her shower. She couldn’t help but smile to herself. Yes, Greg was clearly interested in her, and not just as his rookie. But she knew the department had a policy against Training Officers getting personally involved with their rookies, and Rowan knew if it happened, and people found out about it, it would follow her her entire career. God, if only she had met Greg under different circumstances. True, there was an age difference...she was 23 and Greg was 34, but damn, he was hot...and sweet...and funny, and smart. He was a great cop, and from what Rowan had seen, he was such a good man. He was everything she’d ever hoped to find...so of course she had found him, and there was no way she could ever have him. Rowan rolled her eyes at her rotten luck when it came to men. She toweled off from the shower, brushed her teeth, and went into her bedroom. As she climbed into bed, she found her thoughts drifting to Greg, and wondered if he was pining away for her the same way she was pining away for him.


	6. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg is missing, and Rowan thinks she knows who took him. But despite her concerns, no one takes her seriously except one officer, because she's a female rookie of the LAPD. Rowan sets out on a quest, alone, to find and rescue her missing training officer, Officer Greg Parker.

October 31, 1980  
Rowan pounded on Greg’s front door, as she frowned, glancing at her watch. Damnit, if he didn’t hurry up they were both going to be REALLY late. She leaned to the right, and peeked in the front window that was by the door, but she didn’t see anything. Shrugging her shoulders, Rowan figured that maybe Greg had caught a ride into work with someone else, and had just forgotten to tell her. She glanced at her watch again, and deciding she’d waited long enough, ran back to her car. Thankfully, she wound up being only about five minutes late for roll call.

Rowan walked quickly into the roll call room, with Sgt. Pierce scowling at her. “Nice of you to join us, Officer McElroy.” Rowan inwardly winced. “Sorry, sir...umm...traffic.” He just nodded, and continued with the morning briefing. After he dismissed everyone, he glanced at Rowan. “McElroy...hold up a minute.” Some of her male officers snickered as they left the room, immediately assuming Rowan was in trouble...but that wasn’t the case. After the roll call room had emptied, Sgt. Pierce went up to Rowan and frowned. “McElroy, you wouldn’t happen to know where your training officer is, would you?” Rowan’s eyes went wide. “Sorry sir? He’s not here?” Sgt. Pierce shook his head. “You were late this morning, something completely out of character for you, and your training officer missed roll call. Is there something going on I should know about?” Rowan barely controlled her eyeroll. “I resent what you’re implying Sgt. Pierce. There’s nothing personal going on between me and Officer Parker.” Sgt. Pierce sighed. “I know that, McElroy, and I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. But it’s also completely out of character for Officer Parker to miss roll call, and not call in.” Rowan nodded. “Well, sir, I do know he’s having issues with his personal vehicle. Maybe that’s the reason?” Sgt. Pierce looked at her. “What kind of issues?” Rowan frowned slightly. “Well, sir, he had a flat tire, and a flat spare. I had to give him a ride into work yesterday, and I was supposed to give him a ride into work this morning. He was going to get his tire issue resolved today sir.” Rowan said that last part quickly, because she didn’t want Sgt. Pierce thinking she had any kind of personal relationship with her training officer. Sgt. Pierce frowned at her. “What do you mean you were supposed to give him a ride to work this morning?” Rowan glanced around nervously then...obviously something was very wrong. “Well, sir, I went by his house this morning. His truck was sitting out front in the driveway. I rang the doorbell and knocked several times, but he never answered. I thought maybe he had found alternate transportation into work and hadn’t had a chance to tell me. I thought he was already here, so I left.” Sgt. Pierce sighed...he could tell Rowan was worried. “I’m sure it’s nothing, McElroy. So the last time you saw Officer Parker was last night, is that correct?” Rowan quickly nodded. “Yes sir, it was I’d say about 8pm? We had stopped on the way back to his house so he could order a new tire for his truck and buy another spare.” Sgt. Pierce nodded. “Alright then...well, since Officer Parker is MIA at the moment, I’ll find you someone else to ride with today.” He smiled at Rowan, but Rowan could tell he was just as worried as she was. Just then, Officer Crawford poked his head into the roll call room. “Sorry to interrupt...either of you seen Parker? He’s got a phone call.” Rowan frowned at that, as Sgt. Pierce did as well. Sgt. Pierce waved Crawford over. “Officer Crawford...Officer Parker won’t be in today, so, Officer McElroy will be riding with you today, if that’s ok?” Officer Crawford smiled and nodded. “Sure, that’s fine with me.” Sgt. Pierce nodded. “Excellent. Now if you two will excuse me…” Sgt. Pierce quickly left the roll call room, as Rowan’s mind was racing. Something was definitely wrong...there was no way Greg just wouldn’t show up for work. She looked at Crawford. “C’mon...we’re leaving.” Crawford frowned after her. “Ummm...I think that’s my line, Boot.” Rowan whirled around and got in Crawford’s face. She lowered her voice. “Something’s wrong, Crawford. I was supposed to give Parker a ride into work this morning...he’s having problems with his truck. I got to his house this morning, but he never answered the door. So I thought maybe he was already here, that he’d found another ride into work or something. But he’s not here...and he never called in either.” Crawford crossed his arms, frowning at Rowan. “You sure about this McElroy? That’s not like Parker at all.” Rowan quickly nodded. “Yes...I’m sure. Crawford, something’s wrong...I know it.” Crawford sighed, and was about to say something before Rowan interrupted him. “Look...I know I’m just a rookie compared to you and basically everyone else on this shift. But something’s wrong...I know it. Greg would never just not show up to work like this, I know he wouldn’t.” Rowan realized her slip of the tongue and hoped Crawford wouldn’t point it out. Crawford nodded at her. “Ok...I agree with you. C’mon, I have a key to Greg’s house. Maybe he’s sick or something. Let’s go check it out.” Rowan nodded, immensely relieved that Crawford was taking her concerns seriously. They both ran from the roll call room. 

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of Greg’s house. Rowan got out of the patrol car and frowned as she glanced next door. Crawford caught her frown and glanced at Jeff’s house, before looking back at Rowan. “What is it, McElroy?” Rowan shook her head as she looked at Crawford. “Nothing...just...I met Greg’s next door neighbor, Jeff Scott. He’s weird...like really weird.” Crawford nodded. “You got that right, he’s a freaking nutjob. I’m surprised he’s not come out of his house. Every time I’ve been over here, Jeff always comes out, as soon as he sees that someone is here. It’s like he sits and the window and watches people.” Rowan looked at Crawford then, and got the feeling that’s exactly what Jeff did. She looked at Greg’s house, and a feeling of dread washed over her. “C’mon, let’s go. Hopefully Greg is just sick...but if he is I’m not taking care of him.” Crawford laughed. “Well, don’t look at me to do that.” They walked up the front steps and Crawford banged on Greg’s front door. “Yo...Parker! Open up, it’s just me and McElroy!” Crawford waited before Rowan rolled her eyes and frowned. She snatched the key out of Crawford’s hand and unlocked the door, pushing it open. Crawford grabbed her shoulder. “Wait, Boot...cop eyes, always cop eyes.” Rowan nodded, as she and Crawford both unholstered their weapons. It didn’t take them long to clear the house. Crawford frowned as he holstered his weapon. “Well, clearly, he’s not here. But something’s definitely wrong...Greg has never been late to work without calling in first, and he’s never just not shown up at all.” Rowan wasn’t listening to Crawford, she was in the kitchen, and slowly looking around. Something was in here...she could feel it. Something that shouldn’t be. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind. She opened her eyes again...but she still didn’t see anything unusual. She heard Crawford talking to someone on the phone, but she ignored him. She knew she was missing something. Just then she spied a tiny drop of blood on the floor, as Crawford came up to her. “Sgt. Pierce said he’ll take over this, we’re going out on patrol.” Rowan frowned at Crawford. “But…” Crawford rolled his eyes. “No buts, Boot. We still have a job to do. Besides, Parker will kill me if I let your training lapse. Let’s go.” Rowan sighed, as she knew there was nothing more she could do right now. She just hoped Greg was ok.

It was nearing the end of shift, and Rowan was frowning at all the men in Sgt. Pierce’s office, who were frowning back at her. Rowan had immediately voiced her concerns to Sgt. Pierce that Greg might be in trouble, but everyone was brushing her off. Sgt. Pierce seemed to take her concerns seriously, as did Officer Crawford, but their hands were tied by the current policy of the LAPD concerning missing persons. Detective Strickland sighed. “Officer McElroy, while we appreciate your concern for your training officer, and your obvious passion for law enforcement, you haven’t given us anything, at all, that we can use. We’re not just going to chase down leads that YOU, a female rookie police officer, with zero experience as a detective, think we should, based on your gut feeling. If you actually have anything substantial to contribute to this investigation, we’re all ears.” Rowan rolled her eyes. “You don’t need a warrant to go question the guy. Besides, he’s Greg’s next door neighbor, he would be a reasonable person to question about Greg’s disappearance. He lives right next door to Greg, maybe he saw something, or heard something.” One of the older guys, who was a retired detective, frowned at Rowan. “Watch your tone, Boot.” Crawford, who was standing next to Rowan, stalked to the older guy, whose name was Vince Spano. “You don’t get to call her Boot, Vince. You’re retired, she’s the police now. And speaking of that, why are you even in on this meeting?” Vince frowned at Crawford. “Because unlike you or Officer McElroy, I actually was a detective.” He was going toe to toe with Crawford now, but Crawford wasn’t backing down. “Yeah...you were a detective, as in not any more. You’re retired now. Just because you happen to be here visiting your buddies doesn’t mean you get to sit in on meetings for real detectives.” Sgt. Pierce had had enough. “Alright, that’s it! Everyone back off. I know we’re all worried about Officer Parker, and your bad attitudes aren’t helping.” Sgt. Pierce sighed as he looked at Rowan. “Officer McElroy, your argument makes sense. But as of right now, we have nothing to indicate Officer Parker is in trouble or that he’s disappeared. He’s only been missing for a few hours, we can’t launch an official investigation yet anyway...we have to wait 96 hours before that can happen.” Rowan jumped to her feet. “That’s insane, Sgt. Pierce! Greg will be dead by then, and his blood will be on your hands!” Rowan rounded on the shocked faces in Sgt. Pierce’s office. “Every one of you will be responsible for Greg’s death. You know something is wrong, you know he’s in trouble, and yet here you sit, doing absolutely nothing!” Detective Strickland got right in Rowan’s face, trying to intimidate her, but it didn’t work. “Like it or not Officer McElroy, that’s the policy. Unless you can find me something that shows Officer Parker is missing under dire circumstances, unless you can find me something that indicates a life and death situation, we wait 96 hours before launching an investigation...and that’s final!” Officer Crawford came to stand by Rowan. “Back off, Strickland, there’s no need to yell at her like that, this isn’t her fault. If you’d listen to her you’d know she’s right!” Rowan smirked at Detective Strickland. “Then it’s time to change the damn policy before it costs my training officer his life!” Rowan started to storm out of the office, when Detective Strickland called after her. “Officer McElroy...you will NOT go anywhere near this, you understand me? You’re a rookie...if I were you, I’d worry about finishing your training. You leave this to the professionals, or I swear, I’ll use every favor I have to bounce you right out of the LAPD!” Rowan glared at the detective, but knew when to keep her mouth shut. “Yes, sir, I understand sir. I’m going to do paperwork...because you know, I’m just a rookie.” Rowan stalked out of the office before anyone could say anything and slammed the door. Crawford sighed as he looked at Detective Strickland. “You know what Detective? You’re a real asshole. And that rookie is right...that’s a damn stupid policy about filing a missing person’s report, especially when it’s one of our own that’s missing! And if it costs one of my best friends his life, you’ll be answering to me.” Detective Strickland smirked. “You think I’m worried about you taking my badge, patrolman?” Crawford smirked right back at the detective. “Oh...I wasn’t talking about your badge. I’m going to go help my rookie with her paperwork.” Officer Crawford stormed out of Sgt. Pierce’s office before he did something stupid. Sgt. Pierce sighed, as Detective Strickland glared at him. “You need to get your officers under control.” Sgt. Pierce glared back at the detective. “And you need to do your damn job and find my patrolman before it’s too late, because like it or not, McElroy is right. Officer Parker is in trouble...and the longer we wait to look for him, the more likely it is we won’t get to him until it’s too late.” Detective Strickland rolled his eyes as he and his buddy Vince left Sgt. Pierce’s office.

Crawford caught up to Rowan as she was leaving the break room. “McElroy...look I agree with you. But there’s not much we can do, we checked out Greg’s house, and found nothing. We don’t exactly know where to go from here. Look, I’ll handle the paperwork from shift...you go home and try to get some rest. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.” Rowan just nodded. “Thanks Crawford...and thanks for sticking up for me back there.” He just nodded and sighed. “I’m sorry Rowan...really. Strickland shouldn’t have talked to you like that.” Rowan sighed and nodded. “It’s ok, I’m used to it. Anyway, I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Officer Crawford watched her walk away, knowing she wasn’t going home. Rowan was a woman on a mission, and she was going to find her training officer...with or without anyone’s help. As Rowan walked to her car, she realized as she stared up at the full moon that tonight was Halloween. She looked up at the moon, her voice barely above a whisper, as she fought to control her emotions. “I will find you, Greg. I promise. I won’t let you down. I’m coming Greg...just hold on.” And it was then that Rowan heard her T.O.’s voice in her mind. “You have to know when to follow the rules, Boot, and when to enforce them...but you also have to know when to break them.” Nodding to herself, Rowan had just made her mind to throw the rule book right out the proverbial window. She knew her T.O.’s life depended on it...even if no one believed her. And she knew just where to start looking for him.


	7. Quest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Lucy continue reading Rowan's incredible story of her time as a rookie. Lucy frets about how hard her quest will be to have a baby. And Rowan goes on her quest to save her training officer.

Lucy sighed as she closed the journal. Tim looked at her, gently kissing her temple. “Sleepy, Boot?” Lucy closed her eyes. “Kind of...but, I need a break. This is some pretty intense stuff.” Tim nodded. “Yeah...Detective McElroy got policy changed on several different things during her tenure at the LAPD. I’m telling you Boot, you don’t have to read them all tonight, but you definitely need to know her story. She was an incredible cop...one in a million.” Lucy smiled at Tim. “You sound like you have a crush on her.” Tim laughed, and nodded. “Are you kidding? No offense, Boot, but if I had met you and McElroy at the same time, she’d be sitting where you are right now.” Lucy giggled at that. “That’s ok...I settled for second best when I told you I’d marry you. I was really waiting for Bradley Cooper to ask me to marry him, but he took too long.” Tim tickled Lucy then, making her squeal. “Bradley Cooper? Really?” Lucy laughed and nodded as Tim leaned in to kiss her. The kiss lasted for several minutes, before they broke apart. Lucy’s look turned serious then. “Tim...when we finally get to the point of wanting to try and have a baby, it’s not going to be easy.” Tim shrugged carelessly at that. “I told you...if it happens it happens, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.” Lucy nodded, sniffling. “I know...but I really want it to happen.” Tim hugged her tightly to him. “I know baby...I do too. And when the time comes, we’ll get all the necessary info we need to give us the best odds of success. But listen to me...this isn’t your fault, Luce. Your body just doesn’t work quite like it should...that’s not your fault, at all. So don’t blame yourself. And in the meantime, we can practice all we want to, right?” Lucy laughed through her tears. “Well, yes, we can.” Tim tiled her face towards his and kissed her deeply. “Then stop worrying. Besides, we’ve got enough to worry about with Nolan and his canvas which happens to be our new house and Cheyenne and her obvious horrible taste in boyfriends.” Tim scowled at that last part making Lucy laugh. Tim glanced at his phone. “It’s almost 2am. Let’s go get some sleep.” Lucy sighed as Tim pulled her up from the couch, and led her into their bedroom. Lucy stopped walking, making him turn around and look at her. He walked back to her, looking concerned. “Luce? You ok?” Lucy nodded and smiled at him, as she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him deeply. “Can we practice before we go to sleep?” Tim didn’t answer her, with words anyway. He simply reached for the light switch on the wall, turned it off, and shed his clothes. Then he pulled Lucy into his embrace, kissing her deeply, as she backed him towards their bed. 

Lucy awoke several hours later to Tim nibbling on her neck, and she smiled. She sighed as she felt him roll her onto her back. She hadn’t yet opened her eyes as she felt his mouth ravishing her neck. “You didn’t get enough practice in earlier this morning?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her mouth, their tongues tangling playfully. Tim moaned as Lucy rolled her hips against him, and he could feel how wet she was. “There’s never enough practice with you, Boot.” Suddenly, Lucy felt the loss of Tim’s warmth as he sat up, but before she could say anything, she felt his warm breath on her thighs. Her legs fell open helplessly and she moaned with pleasure when she felt his tongue licking her center. She was so wet already, and Tim loved it. He groaned as he continued to lick her and tease her. “I love the way you taste, baby.” Lucy began to move, grinding herself against Tim’s mouth. He shoved his tongue deep inside her, and Lucy moaned, loudly. She blindly reached for Tim’s hands, and her fingers threaded through his as they held each other tightly. She gripped his hands harder and harder and moved against his mouth quicker and quicker as he drove her crazy with his tongue. Tim groaned as he felt Lucy tense up, and greedily lapped up every drop that leaked out of her. Lucy sighed contentedly, and smiled, opening her eyes. But Tim was still between her legs, and still licking her. She closed her eyes again, loving the sensations he was giving her. Lucy groaned, and Tim finally had gotten his fill. He kissed his way back up her body before he entered her. She opened her eyes, and smiled at him. He looked intently at her. “I love you, Boot. So much.” Lucy pulled Tim’s face to hers, and kissed him deeply as he began to move inside her. 

Tim and Lucy finally came up for air around 11am. Tim sighed. “I was supposed to meet Nolan like an hour ago.” Lucy laughed as Tim came up behind her, ans began nibbling her neck. “Then you better go, or you’ll be really, really late.” She turned around wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled his mouth to hers. “You hate being late.” Tim smiled as he kept kissing her. “Yeah...I do...but this is a damn good reason to be late. I’m developing your bad habits, Boot.” Tim kissed her for several more minutes. “Are you coming with me to our new house?” Lucy nodded, and smiled at him. “Yep. Just let me grab my purse.” Tim nodded as Lucy dashed off to grab her purse and shoes. On impulse, she grabbed Rowan’s journal off the coffee table and stuffed it into her purse. She and Tim headed to the garage and got in his truck. Tim texted Nolan that he was sorry for running late, and would stop and grab some lunch for everyone. 

Tim and Lucy arrived at their new house about thirty minutes later. They walked in the front door, with Tim carrying a bag of In-N-Out. They walked inside to the sound of Ozzy Osbourne, and a very loud banging sound. Lucy frowned as Tim looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. They found Nolan in the kitchen, and he’d almost finished taking out the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room. Lucy squealed in delight. “Oh my gosh! I love it, Nolan! I absolutely love it!” Tim couldn’t help but smile. Taking out that wall had definitely opened the place up, and he loved the space now. Tim was slowly starting to see what Nolan’s vision for the house was, and he couldn’t agree more. Nolan smiled as he turned the music off. “Sorry...I need some headbanging music when I take walls out.” Tim nodded as he handed Nolan a to go bag and a coke. “Lunch...looks great Nolan. After we eat, you tell me what you want me to do.” The three of them went into the living room where Lucy had put a cheap plastic picnic table and 4 chairs. It served as a comfy place to eat away from all the mess. John bit into his double cheeseburger and sighed. “Thanks...I was starving.” Tim sipped his coke. “Yeah...sorry I was late.” John rolled his eyes. “I don’t need any more details...I know the only thing that can make you late is her.” Tim laughed as Lucy frowned. “That’s not fair Nolan.” Nolan just laughed at her. “Actually, it’s completely fair, and true, because I have the same issue with Grace.” Lucy smirked at him as Nolan winked at her. They finished their lunch, when Lucy realized she’d forgotten to get her purse out of Tim’s truck. “I’ll be right back, I need to get my purse.” Tim nodded, as he and John went back into the kitchen, with John telling him what he thought would look good as far as paint colors, and what he wanted to do with the cabinets. Tim nodded, as he looked around the kitchen.

Lucy opened the truck and climbed inside. She reached for her purse, and then sighed. The truck was much more comfortable than that plastic chair was. And she heard Ozzy blaring again, so she decided to sit in the truck and read a little more from Rowan’s journal. Lucy pulled Rowan’s journal our of her purse and flipped it open to where she and Tim had stopped reading earlier.

October 31, 1980  
Rowan parked a block away from Greg’s house. She ran up the street until she reached his house. She was about to break into it when an idea came to her. She instead ran past Greg’s house, and cautiously scoped out Jeff’s house. His truck was gone, and there was only one light glowing inside his house. Rowan would bet that Jeff wasn’t home, which meant now was the perfect time to make her move. Rowan raced through his front yard, glancing around. The sun had set, and dusk had fallen. Rowan glanced around quickly, but didn’t see any neighbors outside in their yards or at the windows. She ran around to the back of the house and looked for a way to enter. She saw a window on the first floor that was slightly open. Rowan carefully raised the window enough for her to climb inside. Once inside the house she realized she was in what Jeff obviously used for an office. She started going through the desk that was next to the window, but didn’t find anything. She glanced at the desk, and started to leave the room when she turned back to the desk. There on the desk was a picture of Jeff’s cabin...the same cabin that she had seen in a picture at Greg’s house. She picked up the picture and looked at it. She flipped it over, and took the back of the picture frame off, and took the picture out of the picture frame. She looked at the picture more closely, and then flipped it over. There, on the back of the picture was the address of the cabin. Rowan had a hunch, and she was going to play it. Rowan had once told Greg that she’d give him the guts. Now was that time...she was a rookie, and she was a woman, which meant she was at the very bottom of the food chain of the LAPD, and no one was going to listen to her. She knew a picture of a cabin wouldn’t be enough to convince Detective Strickland to launch a search for Greg. She was on her own. And at that moment, Rookie LAPD Officer Rowan McElroy was the only thing that could save her T.O.

Almost three hours later, Rowan had reached the cabin in Big Bear Lake. It had taken her a while to find it, as she’d gotten lost twice. But she knew, in her heart, that Greg was at that cabin, and that Jeff had taken him there. She had no idea why Jeff would want to hurt Greg, although she’d soon find out. All Rowan had to defend herself was her service weapon and her car keys.

Rowan saw the cabin in the distance, with it’s lights on, and killed her headlights. She’d have to walk the rest of the way in so as not to alert Jeff. She had stopped at a payphone and had called Mid Wilshire to get Officer Crawford’s home number. Once she’d reached Officer Crawford, she’d told him what she was doing. Crawford had pleaded with her to wait, but Rowan knew there Greg was running out of time. Crawford had wanted to alert the LAPD, who would have had to alert the cops up here, and by the time a plan had been hashed out, hours would have passed...hours that Rowan knew Greg didn’t have. After hanging up with Crawford, Rowan had gotten back into her car and had driven as fast as she could to the cabin. She got out of her car, and softly closed the door. She put her car keys in her pocket, and checked her weapon, making sure it was ready to use. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Then she opened her eyes again, and squared her shoulders. This was it...this was what she had trained for. She was ready to go to war...but unfortunately for Rowan, she had no idea that she was about to go to war with a serial killer.


	8. Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rowan attempts to rescue her T.O, and goes up against the Big Bear Lake Killer. And she and Greg take the first steps in admitting they have gone way past rookie and training officer.

Rowan reached the cabin, and darted in and out among the trees that surrounded part of the cabin. She had to find a way in. The first of her doubts began to creep in, and she momentarily froze. What the hell was she doing? She had no clue if Greg was in there or not. She only had her gut instincts. But her instincts were screaming at her that Greg was in that cabin, and had been taken there against his will. Her dad had always taught her to listen to her instincts, and she was going to listen to them now. Shrugging her doubts aside, Rowan cautiously circled the cabin, trying to find a way in. She was surprised to see that it had a basement, as most houses in California don’t have those. She was about to get closer to a door she saw that she assumed led into the basement when she saw it opening. Rowan dived behind a tree. She needed the element of surprise, so she changed tactics, and decided to go through the back door on the upper level of the cabin. She had her gun ready, and quietly vaulted the steps of the cabin. She crept around the porch, ducking below the windows, and crawling when she had to. She cautiously tried the back door...it was unlocked. She quietly pushed the back door open, and stepped inside. She held her weapon close to her chest as she looked around. She didn’t see anyone, but just then a sound came from behind her. Rowan whirled and aimed her weapon.

Jeff sighed. “I should have known you’d figure it out, Rowan.” Rowan frowned at Jeff as she held her gun on him. “Where’s Greg?” Jeff shook his head and sighed. “Look...I need you to know I never had any intention of hurting Greg. He’s been a good guy and a good friend, and a good neighbor. In fact, honestly, this is all your fault.” Rowan let out a startled laugh. “My fault? How the hell is this my fault? I don’t even know you!” Jeff smiled menacingly at her. “Yeah you do Rowan. I don’t know how you know, but you know. I could see it the minute it hit your eyes. You know exactly what I am.” Rowan narrowed her eyes at him. “Get down on the ground, now! Spread your legs!” Jeff just laughed. “Nah...I don’t think I’m going to do that, Rowan. But, because it’s you, I’ll tell you at least some of it, before I kill you.” Rowan didn’t take her eyes off Jeff as he sat down in a kitchen chair. “I didn’t want to kill Greg. But I have to now, because of you.” Rowan sighed. “That doesn’t make any sense. Tell me what you did with him!” Jeff laughed. “Nothing yet...but I have to get rid of him, because I have no idea what you may have told him. Then I’ll have to get rid of you.” Rowan forced herself to concentrate. “You’re not making any sense Jeff. I have no idea what you have or haven’t done. I don’t know who or what you are...I literally know nothing about you.” Jeff sighed. “I wish I could believe that Rowan. I really do. Greg talks about you all the time...I think he’s in love with you.” Rowan’s eyes went wide. Jeff sighed as he continued rambling. “You may not know that you know, but you know what I am Rowan. And I can’t allow you to ruin everything for me. I’m sorry.” Jeff sprang out of his chair then, and Rowan yelled. “Freeze! Don’t move!” But Jeff bolted from the room before Rowan could do anything.

Rowan was breathing heavily now, and sweating. She was absolutely terrified...but Greg was somewhere in this cabin, and she had to find him. It was up to her to save him. Rowan slowly walked to the doorway that Jeff had bolted through, and peeked around it, aiming her weapon down into an empty hallway. She saw a door in the hallway that clearly led to the basement. She heard a thud coming from the basement and padded quietly to the doorway to the basement. She aimed her weapon down the stairs, but still saw no one. She quickly went down the stairs, aiming her weapon in front of her. She looked down another hallway, and saw several doors. She’d have to clear those rooms. Rowan proceeded down the hallway, and after clearing each room, she shut the door. She rounded a corner, and heard a moan. She saw Greg, in a heap on the floor, and ran to him. She bent down and felt for a pulse...and almost cried when she found one. She bent next to him and whispered in his ear. “Greg...it’s me, it’s Rowan! I’ve got you...I’m going to get you out of here, ok? Can you hear me?” Greg’s heart broke in his chest as he heard the voice of the woman he had fallen head over heels for. He somehow wasn’t surprised at all that Rowan had found him. Every time he assumed there was no way Rowan could accomplish something, she found a way to accomplish it anyway. But Greg knew that Rowan was still a rookie and she was about to go up against a serial killer...alone. Greg whispered as loud as he dared. “Rowan...get out of here, now.” Greg wasn’t injured too badly, but he did have a concussion, and had been drugged pretty heavily by whatever it was that Jeff had given him. Rowan was still crouched by Greg, but held her weapon out with one arm while she reached for Greg’s hand. “I’m going...I have to find Jeff. I’ll be right back.” Greg grabbed Rowan’s hand hard. “No. Leave me Rowan...you aren’t ready for this. Get out of here and go get help.” Rowan looked down tearfully at Greg, who had turned his head to look at her. “I’m not leaving you, Greg! You’re my T.O.” Greg closed his eyes, and took a breath. “Remember what I told you, Rowan. If anything happens to me, you take charge, and you get help. Go, now, before he comes back.” Rowan shook her head, and Greg smacked her on the leg, hoping to spur her into action. “Go, now, while you still can Rowan. Get out of here. You...you can make a difference. Make your life count Rowan, make it matter.” Rowan rolled her eyes. “Stop being such a drama queen, Parker. I’m not leaving you here alone with him. But I do have to leave this room. I’ll be right back, I promise.” Just as Rowan stood up, the lights went out.

Thanks to Greg telling him that Rowan was the best rookie he’d ever seen and was basically a female super cop, Jeff knew he’d have to up his game to take on Rowan. He threw the breaker, turning off all the power inside the cabin. Then he put on his night vision goggles, and turned them on. Any advantage he could take, he would. He grabbed his favorite weapon, a colt.45, and slowly walked to the stairs that led to the basement. He walked down the stairs, easily able to see in the pitch black darkness of the cabin.

Rowan swore violently, surprising Greg...he’d never heard her talk like that before. Rowan couldn’t see a damn thing, how the hell was she supposed to shoot? She crouched down by Greg again, and whispered. “Whatever you do, don’t move. Don’t stand up. I know where you are right now, so please just stay there. I don’t want to accidentally shoot my T.O.” Greg quietly laughed. “Yeah, that might look bad on your eval. Rowan, get the hell out of here while you still can! For once, don’t argue with me!” Rowan rolled her eyes, forgetting that Greg couldn’t see her. “Just shut up and be quiet, so I can hear, ok? I’ll be right back, I promise you.” Before she left, Rowan leaned over Greg, and found his mouth with hers, and gave him a soft kiss. “Don’t tell anyone I did that, or I will accidentally shoot you.” And with that, she was gone.

Rowan remembered that there was very little furniture in the basement...most of the rooms were empty, and the room she was in was mostly empty except for a chair by the door. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she slowly walked forward, and made it out of the room into the hallway, just as Jeff made it down the stairs into the hallway. Jeff decided to have a little fun with Rowan before he killed her. He let out a soft whistle...and wasn’t expecting Rowan to fire in the direction she heard the sound. He dove to the floor, and Rowan fired again. Jeff turned and raced down the hallway in the opposite direction. Rowan started to run after the pounding footsteps she heard on the floor...but stopped after she went a short distance. She dropped to her knees and closed her eyes, relying only on her hearing and raised her weapon. She heard what sounded like a breath and turned in the direction and fired. She heard a creaking sound and turned and fired in the direction it came from. But then she heard nothing else. 

Jeff had had enough, and quietly went into another room that connected to the room Greg was in. He was going to lead Rowan back into that room, and hoped she’d accidentally kill Greg for him. Jeff slowly walked back into the room that Greg was in. He stared at Greg, who was trying, and failing to sit up. Greg had heard the gunshots ring out, and knew he had to find a way to get to Rowan. She was his rookie and his responsibility, and he wasn’t about to let her die for him. But he was so heavily drugged, his body wouldn’t cooperate. Jeff sighed as he saw Greg struggle to sit up. “I’m really sorry about this neighbor.” Then he took out a switchblade, and sliced into Greg’s leg, as Greg let out a scream.

Rowan gasped as she heard Greg let out an awful sound...and she ran back the way she’d come. She only had three bullets left, and she had to make every one of them count. She slowly creeped back into the room Greg was in, all of her senses on high alert. She could smell sweat, and hear heavy breathing, and could also smell blood. She knew Jeff was in here. As she crept farther into the room, Jeff had come up behind her. He raised his weapon and cocked the gun. Rowan whirled at the sound behind her, and fired three times, hitting Jeff three times. She had hit him center mass, just like they’d taught her in the academy. Jeff fell to the floor, gurgling blood. He tried to raise his weapon, but he couldn’t. Rowan couldn’t see him, but she could hear the wet, gasping noises he made as he struggled to breathe. But after a few seconds, she heard nothing. 

“Rowan! Rowan! Talk to me!” Greg hurt like hell from where Jeff had sliced him and was sick to his stomach he was so dizzy, but he was still alive, and he was desperate to know if his rookie was still alive as well. Rowan turned at the sound of Greg’s voice and rushed to him. “I’m right here, Greg, I’m right here.” She crouched down to him just as he managed to sit up, and he pulled her into his arms. And then it hit her...Rowan had done a great job of blocking out all emotion and concentrating on what she needed to do. But now she realized what she’d done. He might have been pure evil, but she’d just killed someone. Rowan began sobbing, as Greg held tightly onto her. He tried to soothe her. “It’s ok baby...it’s ok. You got him.” Rowan cried louder as Greg gently rocked her, his injuries all but forgotten. He buried his face in her hair as Rowan sobbed in his arms. Greg closed his eyes, in part thankfulness, and in part disbelief. He never would have imagined that his female rookie, of all people, would be the one to save his life, let alone take down a serial killer. That would be the first of many, many times, that Rowan McElroy proved everyone wrong, and showed them all just how badass a female cop could be. 

Just then, Greg heard several sirens getting closer and closer...the cavalry had arrived it seemed. He smiled to himself. Of course his rookie had told someone where she was going...and of course she hadn’t bothered to wait for backup. He shook his head, as Rowan’s sobs quieted. She slowly sat up, and eased out of his arms, although she did tilt her head into his shoulder. She quickly wiped her eyes. “Sounds like backup is here.” Greg laughed. “Yep...mind telling me why you didn’t wait for backup before you stormed the cabin all by yourself? That’s not exactly what I trained you to do.” Rowan sighed. “I only told Crawford where I was going. No one else would even listen to me. I tried to tell everyone that you were missing, and that you were in trouble...they all brushed me off, told me to worry about my training, and leave finding you to the pros.” Greg reached for her hand and held it in his. “And yet you, an inexperienced rookie, managed to find me, all by yourself, and came to my rescue anyway?” Rowan laughed. “Well, yeah. I couldn’t leave you to fend for yourself. Besides, you have to finish training me. You told me I had to figure out when to enforce the rules...and when to break them, remember?” Greg sighed. “Yeah, I do remember...seems to me you broke pretty much all of them in this situation. But if you hadn’t, I’d probably be dead right now, so, thanks. Is there anything you can’t do Rowan?” Rowan sighed. “Well...I’m a pretty horrible cook. No, check that. I am a Godawful cook. Like you’d probably get food poisoning if I cooked for you. So I promise to never, ever cook for you.” Greg laughed...and then hissed, as his leg hurt like hell. “That’s a deal, McElroy.” And then, before the cavalry busted in on them, Greg tilted Rowan’s chin up, and kissed her, deeply, and heard her slight moan. Then he eased back from her and smiled, even though Rowan couldn’t see him. “Happy Halloween, McElroy.” Rowan just laughed. “Happy Halloween, Parker.” 

PRESENT DAY  
Lucy was balling in Tim’s truck. She was in awe of Rowan McElroy. Talk about a badass rookie. Lucy then realized she had reached the end of that journal, and swore. She was dying to know the rest of Rowan’s story. Tim came outside just then, and saw Lucy crying in his truck. He frowned, as he ran over to the truck and jerked the door open. “Luce? Baby, what’s wrong?” Then he saw the journal in her lap, and sighed. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. Lucy sighed in his arms. “Now I know why Rowan is such a legend in the LAPD.” Tim shook his head. “I don’t think so, Boot. Let me see that journal.” Lucy pulled away from him and frowned at him as she handed him the journal. He went to the last few pages of the journal and smiled as he read what Rowan had written so long ago. "This is part of it...but it's not all of it. Tell you what, Nolan cut himself, it’s not serious…” Tim rolled his eyes as Lucy gasped. “He just needs a bandage. We don’t have a first aid kit here, which we should have thought to bring. So, I’m going to run home real quick and grab the first aid kit...and I’ll bring back some more journals for you to read since you clearly don’t want to help get our new house together.” Lucy rolled her eyes as Tim grinned at her. “I’ll help...with the stuff I know how to do, which we are weeks away from being ready to do.” Tim nodded at her. “Deal.” He then leaned in and kissed her soundly, as she got out of the truck. He smiled at her. “I’ll be back shortly.” Lucy nodded as she went inside her new house to check on Nolan.


	9. Mr. And Mrs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy continues to read through Rowan's journal and learns the rest of Rowan's story...and it contains a few surprises.

Tim had brought back the journals as promised, but by the time he got back to the new house, Lucy, and Nolan were having a dance party with Nyla, Jase, Grayson, Ruthie, Angela, and Wesley. He left the journals in the truck, and the group spent the rest of the day working on Tim and Lucy’s new house...and dance parties when they needed a break. They’d gotten a lot done, but they had a long way to go...or so it seemed to Tim. After everyone had left, Tim and Lucy had gone to Jackson and Sterling’s place. Sterling lived in a gorgeous mansion, though it was one of the smaller mansions in Beverly Hills, that overlooked the Pacific, and Jackson had moved in with him several months ago. They had had a lovely dinner outside on the veranda that overlooked the skyline of Los Angeles, and the Pacific. Jackson sat down next to Sterling and they looked at each other and grinned and nodded, before looking back at Tim and Lucy, who were sitting on another couch opposite them. They were all seated around an outside firepit, enjoying a nice bottle of white wine. Lucy laughed as she looked between the two of them. “What? What are you two up to?” Jackson smiled at her as he sipped his wine. “Do you two know where you’re having the wedding?” Lucy shook her head as she glanced at Tim, who just shrugged his shoulders. She looked back at Jackson. “No...we’ve not even started planning it yet. We’ve been busy with the house and Cheyenne and...everything.” Jackson just nodded, but couldn’t contain his excitement. “Ok...well we’re just throwing this option out there…” Sterling jumped in and interrupted him. “And if you guys don’t want to do it, it’s fine, we’re not pressuring you, just giving you an option you might not have thought of…” Jackson rolled his eyes and interrupted Sterling. “If you decide to have the wedding in California, because I know several states are on the table right now as options…” Sterling tried to interrupt again, and Jackson turned and looked at him. “Really?” Sterling smiled. “Sorry baby...you tell them.” Jackson smiled at Sterling before looking back at Lucy. This time, Lucy interrupted him, as Tim sipped his wine. “What is it, Jackson?” But Tim got it..and smiled as he swallowed his wine. “You want us to have the wedding here, at your house...er..ummm..I mean, mansion? Crashpad? Whatever you call this place?” Lucy gasped as she looked at Tim and then back at Jackson and Sterling. Jackson smiled. “Yes! I knew Bradford was the smart one.” Tim laughed as Lucy cried and rushed over to hug Jackson and Sterling as they engulfed her. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much guys! We honestly haven’t talked about a location yet, but wow...this place is so beautiful!” She stood up and walked the distance over the large veranda. Jackson smiled. “Couldn’t you just see it? A wedding, at sunset, your guests can all sit out here, we could put an arch over there…” Jackson and Sterling rushed over to Lucy and began talking excitedly to her. Tim could see it, with no problem at all, and it put the biggest smile on his face. He and Lucy really hadn’t started planning the wedding yet, but if she wanted to get married here, he was all for it.

Later that evening, Lucy was curled up in bed, with her reading glasses on, and Tim smiled to himself, as he snuggled into her, with his head on her chest. Lucy had loved the idea of getting married at Jackson and Sterling’s “crashpad” as Tim had called it, but she’d not said another word about it once they’d gotten home. She had jumped into the shower, and had dived back into Rowan’s journals as soon as she got in bed. She was reading aloud to Tim again, and he found it soothing.

November 25, 1980.   
Rowan had just gotten home from another shift...and while she hadn’t lost her love for the job, what had happened to her and Greg had definitely stuck with her. But she found herself in a total rut, and couldn’t seem to snap herself out of it. Without any warning, Greg had resigned as her training officer shortly after she had killed the serial killer, Jeffrey Scott. He was still with the LAPD, but she’d been assigned to Officer Crawford full time now as his rookie while she finished her training. Rowan had expected it at first while Greg recovered from his injuries. But once he was back on full duty, she had expected to be partnered with him again. Sgt. Pierce had told her that Greg had requested a new training officer for her, and the only explanation given was that it was for the best. Sgt. Pierce had brushed it off to the fact that, in his opinion, Greg had been traumatized by his experience and just wasn’t up to dealing with a rookie right now. Rowan had sucked it up, and it wasn’t that she disliked Crawford..she really liked him, and knew she could learn a lot from him. But she had been devastated that Greg had basically dumped her off on someone else, and hadn’t even bothered to tell her beforehand. 

Rowan was in her tiny kitchen, in her tiny apartment in West Hollywood. She’d gotten the place for a song, compared to many areas of Los Angeles. It wasn’t as close to work as she’d have liked, but the places close to work weren’t as safe. She’d just slapped together a ham and cheese sandwich and had pulled a beer out of the fridge when she heard a knock at her door. She rolled her eyes as she sipped her beer...she was starving and not in the mood for company. She looked down at herself and sighed...she was wearing a stained L.A. Rams tee shirt, a pair of LAPD physical training shorts from her days at the academy, and thrown her hair into a messy bun. She hadn’t showered yet either, and she definitely smelled of someone who’d worked hard, outside, all day. Oh well...served them right for showing up at her place unannounced. She set her beer down on the counter and walked to her front door and looked through the peephole. No freaking way...what the hell was her former training officer doing here? Rowan looked down at herself and grimaced. She hurried to her bathroom and slapped some deodorant on...at least she’d smell better. She ran back to the door when she heard the knock again. “Rowan, it’s Greg. Please let me in.”

Damn it, he hadn’t even thought to call first. She might not even be home. Greg rolled his eyes at his thoughtlessness, and turned to leave when Rowan slowly opened the door. He turned back and smiled at her. “Hi.” Rowan just stared at him. “What are you doing here, Greg?” Greg felt the smile fall from his face as he looked at Rowan who couldn’t hide the hurt in her eyes. “I need to talk to you...can I come in?” Rowan shook her head. “No. You had a chance to talk to me, and instead you dumped me off on someone else. I thought you were different, Greg. But you’re just like all the rest of the male cops who don’t want me or any woman working the front lines in the LAPD.” Rowan started to close the door, when Greg threw his arm against it. He frowned at Rowan, who glared right back at him. “Rowan, I didn’t dump you...is that what you think?” Rowan looked away, as Greg sighed. “Rowan...please let me in so we can talk about this.” Rowan sighed and rolled her eyes. She walked away from the door and went the short distance into her kitchen. She couldn’t look at Greg, so she bit into her sandwich and washed it down with her beer. Greg walked into her apartment and shut and locked the door. Rowan had already scarfed down her sandwich and was now guzzling her beer. Greg raised an eyebrow at her. “Did you even eat today?” Rowan rolled her eyes as she slammed her beer bottle down on the counter. “No, it was a busy shift. And you’d know if I’d eaten today or not if you were still my training officer, which you made very clear you don’t want to be. What the hell are you even doing here, Greg?” Greg started to walk to her, but Rowan just rolled her eyes, and went into her small living room that was connected to the kitchen. Greg sighed. “If you’ll find a spot and park it, we can talk.” Rowan glared at him as she sat down on her small couch. Greg sat down on the other end of the couch, and Rowan glared even harder at him. She stood up. She was pissing him off and she could see it...good, that was fine with her. Greg stood up and got really into her personal space. “Rowan...stop. I want to talk to you. Please.” Rowan felt the fight go out of her and her expression softened as she looked at Greg. He looked worn out and worried and maybe just a little bit scared. She flopped back down on the couch. “Fine, say whatever you have to say and then go.” 

Greg sighed as he sat back down, careful to keep a distance from Rowan. “I didn’t dump you as my rookie. I mean, I did, but not for the reasons you think.” Rowan felt the fight flood back into her. “Yes, you did! You didn’t even tell me you had requested I be reassigned to someone else. You just did it...and then never spoke to me again. What did I do that was so wrong, Greg? What the hell did I do?” To Greg’s shock, Rowan buried her face in her hands and began sobbing. Greg frowned at her and scooted over to her. “Damnit...Rowan, you didn’t do anything wrong, I did!” Rowan slowly looked at him, and blinked back her tears. “What are you talking about?” Greg let out a bitter laugh. “Well, for starters, I somehow missed the fact that my neighbor was a freaking psychopath. I’ve been a cop for ten years. You’ve been a cop for like ten minutes, and you picked up on it.” 

Greg was still furious with himself for having been so wrong about Jeff. His mistake had almost cost him and his rookie their lives, or at least that’s how he saw it. As it had turned out, Jeff was indeed a serial killer. After Rowan and Greg had been found, Jeff’s property had been searched. The LAPD had found six bodies buried all over his property...all women in their 20’s. The only reason Jeff had gone after Greg was because Jeff had realized that Rowan had seen something evil in him, and he was afraid she’d told Greg. If Greg had started an investigation into him, it would have been all over for Jeff. Thankfully, Jeff had screwed himself over by going after Greg. It had spread through the LAPD like wildfire that a rookie female patrol officer had tracked down and killed the hunted serial killer known as the Big Bear Lake Killer, while at the same time rescuing her training officer, and she did it al by herself. It had resulted in Rowan being hailed as a hero, Detective Strickland being fired for brushing Rowan’s concerns away simply because she was a rookie and a woman, and a change in the LAPD policy concerning how soon a missing person report can be filed. 

Greg looked at Rowan, and put his heart on the line. “But that’s not the only way I screwed up, Rowan. I screwed up with you.” Rowan frowned at him then. “How did you screw up with me? You were an excellent training officer. I was leaning a lot from you...and I thought I was doing well.” Greg closed his eyes briefly and sighed as he tried to explain. “You were doing well, Rowan...you still are doing well. You’re the best rookie I’ve ever had Rowan...hell, you’re the best damn rookie the LAPD has ever had. But I stopped being able to see you as my rookie Rowan...I only saw you.” Rowan shook her head, refusing to believe what her heart hoped for. “That’s not true...you’re only saying that because we went through a traumatic experience together. Once you’re over that, I’ll just be a rookie again in your eyes.” Greg frowned at her as he opened his eyes and looked at her. “No, that’s not true, Rowan. I’ll never be able to see you as just my rookie, ever again. That’s why I had to get you a new training officer. I can’t train you anymore.” Rowan sighed as she looked at him. “What do you want, Greg?” Greg reached out and caressed her cheek. “You. I want you, Rowan, in every possible way. In ways I shouldn’t want you, but I do. I can’t train you anymore, because I fell in love with you.” Rowan’s eyes went wide with shock as Greg leaned down and kissed her deeply. She moaned as his tongue slid down her throat. Greg cradled her face in his hands as he deepened the kiss. He moaned as Rowan kissed him back, and the kiss went on and on. They finally both broke away, breathing heavily, as Greg rested his brow against hers. “It will damn near kill me, Rowan, but I’ll finish training you if that’s what you really want. But I need to know how you feel about all of this. I love you.” Rowan sighed as she looked into his gorgeous blue eyes...and she smiled. “You really do?” Greg softly laughed. “Yeah, I really do. And it’s not because you saved my life, and it’s damn sure not because you argue with me every chance you get.” Rowan laughed as Greg searched her face. She closed her eyes, and decided he was worth the risk...a risk she’d never let herself take before. She opened her eyes as he waited for her answer. “I love you too, T.O.” Greg smiled as he leaned into kiss her again. “Just remember who said it first.” He kissed her deeply again, as Rowan wrapped her arms around his neck. They came up for air several minutes later, and Rowan sighed. “How’s this going to work, Greg? I mean, I’m still a rookie for a few more months.” He sighed as he pulled her into his arms, and leaned back against the couch with her head on his chest. “We’ll have to keep it a secret...that is if you decide you really want this.” Rowan sat up then, and glared at him. “Really? You think I haven’t decided if I really want you? Are you serious right now? You think you can just tell me that you love me, and then have the nerve to….” Greg rolled his eyes as he laughed and yanked Rowan back down into his arms. “Chill out, McElroy, Jesus Christ. I’ve done most of the talking on this subject, and you may change your mind, or decide we should wait until you’re totally done with training…” She heard the hesitation in his voice. She looked up at him and smiled. “Are you asking me what I want?” Greg nodded. “Yeah, I am.” Rowan sat up then, and took off her shirt, as she pulled Greg into her arms. “You...I want you.” Greg sighed into her mouth as Rowan kissed him deeply. They moaned as their tongues tangled with each other. They quickly shed their clothes, as Greg pulled Rowan into his lap and reached between her legs. Rowan moaned into his mouth, as Greg teased her. She kissed him deeply as Greg entered her. Rowan rode him fast and hard, as Greg planted his hands on her hips. Rowan threw her head back as she came, and Greg thought he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life. He picked her up while he was still inside her, and stretched her out on her couch, as he lay on top of her. They made love again, right there on her tiny couch, in her tiny apartment. It would be the first night of many nights that Rowan and Greg spent in secret together. They made love all night long that first night, and Greg had actually proposed to her. It took her six months to accept...and they planned the wedding in secret.

PRESENT DAY  
Tim smiled as Lucy sighed. “Wow…Rowan is my hero. But seriously, Tim, she got involved with her T.O. while she was still a rookie...ok, former T.O., but still. That’s a huge risk they took. What else did she do that made her a legend? I mean, saving your T.O. while you’re still a rookie is pretty amazing...” Tim rolled his eyes. “Skip to the middle or the back part of the journal, Boot. Or it may be in the other journals...or you could just google her.” Lucy groaned as she thought of all the journals she still had to read through. She wanted to google her...but first she skipped to the back part of the journal she was currently reading aloud to Tim.

June 8, 1982  
On June 8, two years to the day that Officer Rowan McElroy had met her training officer, Officer Greg Parker, Rowan and Greg were married on Sunset Beach, at sunset. The wedding was tiny, with only Rowan’s parents, Greg’s parents and brother, Sgt. Pierce, Officer Crawford, and a few others from the LAPD in attendance. By the time their relationship had become known, Rowan was already finished with her training, and Greg had been moved to a different station...at his request. No one had ever found out the truth about when their relationship had actually begun. 

Rowan wore a white, lace sundress that hit just above her knees with a white Magnolia blossom in her hair, which she wore loose around her shoulders. Greg wore a white button down dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and the collar left undone, and khaki dress shorts. Both were barefoot. As soon as they were pronounced husband and wife, Greg took Rowan in his arms and lifted her off her feet, and kissed her deeply. The wedding guests cheered and clapped as the wind picked up and blew Rowan’s fiery red hair across her and Greg’s faces. He set her down on her feet and smiled at her. “I love you, babe.” Rowan smiled back at him as she pulled him in for another long, deep kiss. They honeymooned in Monterrey for a week, before returning to work. 

PRESENT DAY

Lucy looked down at Tim and smiled. “How romantic.” Tim nuzzled her breast. “Do they remind you of anyone in particular?” Lucy laughed as she put the journal down and kissed the top of Tim’s head. “Maybe a little bit, yeah, they do.” Tim frowned up at her. “Only a little bit?” Lucy rolled her eyes as she took her glasses off and set the journal and glasses on the nightstand, and then reached for her phone. “Well, I never rescued you single handedly from a serial killer.” Tim sighed as he stroked her thigh. “No...you single handedly rescued yourself from a serial killer.” Lucy snuggled down in the bed with him until their heads leaned against each other. “If I remember correctly, I had a little help with that, Bradford.” He smiled as he stroked her. “What are you doing?” Lucy quickly kissed him before going back to her phone. “I’m googling Rowan.” Tim just smiled...he couldn’t wait to see the expression on Lucy’s face. He knew all of Rowan’s story, or most of it, except the private stuff that was written in her journals...but he knew how her career had skyrocketed in the LAPD. There was a lot Tim knew about Rowan...and Lucy was about to find out why.

Lucy sat up and gasped as she read about the legendary Detective Rowan McElroy, causing Tim to groan and ease out of her lap. “Holy shit! She was Rookie Of The year, and she made detective, first grade, by the time she was 27, and her first cases were like the most famous cases the LAPD has ever had...she caught the Night Stalker, and Doug Clark and Carol Bundy...whoa, she also was on the team that caught Stephanie Lavin, that LAPD cop who killed her ex boyfriend’s wife, and it says here one of her biggest cases was the Grim Sleeper! Holy Shit, Tim…” Tim grinned. “She didn’t just work those cases, Boot. She also got policy changed. She’s the reason the LAPD changed how they go about filing missing persons reports, she’s the one that started up the major support groups within the LAPD for female police officers, as well as the family support groups. She even changed how the LAPD makes death notifications to families of fallen officers.” Lucy frowned at him then. “How do you know all this about her?” Tim knew then that he was busted...and that the surprise he’d been planning wasn’t going to be a surprise much longer. “Because I know her.” Lucy gasped. “You know her?? And you’re just now telling me?” Tim rolled his eyes. “I was trying to surprise you, and you went and ruined it.” Lucy laughed at him then. “What surprise?” Tim sighed...so much for the surprise. “Rowan’s husband, Greg, was my T.O. I was his last rookie before he retired. He and Rowan retired the same year. Greg had to retire early because he got sick...colon cancer. Rowan retired to take care of him. He’s all good now though.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “You liar...that would mean that Rowan is in her 60’s or 70’s by now.” Tim just laughed. “She’s 63 years old, Boot. 1980, when the first journal you found starts, was a long time ago.” Lucy couldn’t believe it. As she continued reading about Rowan, she learned that Rowan was the most decorated female detective in the history of the LAPD. Her name had been on the short list to become the first female Chief of Police for the LAPD, but she’d taken her name out of the running when she’d found out that she and her husband were expecting their “surprise”...their fifth child, who came along much later than his siblings had. Rowan and Greg had raised five children together...two daughters and three sons. Their oldest son and daughter were both cops in San Francisco. Their younger son and daughter were both lawyers in San Diego...and their youngest son, their “surprise” was the only one who hadn’t followed the family business of law enforcement of some type. He was a writer, in New York City. Though their kids had scattered to the winds, the family had remained very, very close. 

Lucy looked at Tim. “When do I get to meet her?” Tim sighed, “Well.. My idea was to invite Rowan and Greg over for dinner once we get the house fixed up and surprise you with that...which I guess we can still do, though it won’t be a surprise anymore.” Tim frowned at his ruined plans. Lucy laughed. “I can’t wait that long! Tim, I have to meet this woman, she’s unbelievable...she’s almost too good to be true.” Tim smiled at Lucy then, as he caressed her cheek. “That’s exactly what she said about you the first time I told her about my rookie.” Tim leaned in then and kissed Lucy deeply, as Lucy sighed into his mouth. Then she broke the kiss and looked excitedly at Tim. “Wait...she knows about me?” Tim just laughed, and pulled Lucy back into the kiss.


	10. Badass Rookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy finally meets Rowan, and Greg. And Rowan gives Lucy a gift that Lucy will cherish always.

Tim and Lucy had just parked in front of a lovely beach house in Manhattan Beach, CA. When Greg and Rowan retired from the LAPD, Rowan had insisted that she wanted to enjoy retirement, and she wanted to live in a place where she could see the sunset over the water, every night. They had invested wisely over the years, and had been smart with their paychecks, and were now comfortably living the retirement life in their own private beach house. Tim glanced over at Lucy. “You ready, Boot?” Lucy nodded eagerly. “I’m so nervous!” Tim laughed at her. “Why are you nervous? Rowan is one of the most down to earth people you’ll ever meet.” Lucy and Tim got out of the car, and walked to the front door.

Before they had a chance to knock, Rowan pulled open the door, and rushed out to hug Tim. “Tim Bradford! Why it’s been way too long since you came by to see me!” She pulled him into a hard hug, and Lucy noted that Rowan’s hair, while not quite as fiery as it had been in her younger years, was still red, and she was still very fit. Tim pulled away as he smiled down at Rowan. “Rowan..how are you? You look really good.” Rowan blushed. “Why thank you, kind sir.” Tim started to introduce Lucy. “Rowan this is…” Rowan smiled brightly at Lucy as she interrupted Tim. “Oh my, Officer Lucy Chen...it’s such an honor to meet you!” She grabbed Lucy in a hard hug as Lucy looked at Tim with a confused expression on her face. Rowan smiled as she eased back and looked at Lucy. “I’ve followed your career Officer Chen. All I can say is...wow!” Lucy gaped at her. “You...you follow MY career?” Rowan nodded eagerly. “Well, of course I do! It’s not every day a rookie takes on a serial killer. Why, you remind me of myself when I first started with the LAPD.” The look on Lucy’s face made Tim’s heart race. Her mouth had dropped open, in a huge smile, and Lucy was left speechless. Tim couldn’t help but laugh. “C’mon you two...is Greg inside?” Rowan nodded. “Yes, he is, and he better be making us drinks.” 

Rowan led them into the gorgeous, spacious, white kitchen that overlooked a deck, that overlooked the Pacific. Rowan sighed as she fussed at Greg. “I told you to put the ice and rose wine in first, not the fruit.” Greg rolled his eyes. “Says the woman who has still never learned how to cook in the entire thirty eight years we’ve been married. Don’t you have someone you can go arrest while I finish up in here?” Rowan rolled her eyes as Greg kissed her cheek. “I cooked for you.” Greg rolled his eyes at that. “Yeah…something you promised never to do for me. I should have held you to that promise. The first time put me in the hospital with food poisoning, the second time you caught the kitchen on fire, and the third time you made the Chief of Police so sick he puked all over the living room.” Rowan just shook her head and laughed as she kissed him. “Honey...they’re here.” Greg turned from his blender then and smiled. “Looking pretty good there, Boot! And this must be the incredible Lucy Chen I’ve been hearing so much about. Welcome to our home young lady.” Greg gave Tim a big hug, and then gave Lucy a big hug as well. Lucy never would have guessed that she was looking at a 74 year old man. Greg didn’t look much older than Tim did...his hair was still blond and his laughing eyes were still the deep blue color they had been when Rowan first met him. He looked like he could outrun both Tim and Lucy in a footchase. Tim grinned at him. "You're looking good Greg...almost as good as your wife." Greg chuckled. "Well, that will never happen, but, nice try." He finished making the drinks and passed them out as Rowan and Lucy were talking excitedly. Greg smirked at Tim. "So, it happened to you to huh?" Tim rolled his eyes. "Yeah...sometimes I still can't believe it." Greg smiled at Tim. "Yeah...you were the last person I ever expected to fall for their Boot." Tim rolled his eyes. "You did." Greg just laughed. "Yeah...but, I'm not a hardass like you are." Tim laughed as he watched Lucy and Rowan laughing over something Rowan had just told her. 

Greg grinned at Lucy. “I must say it’s an honor to meet you my dear...we’ve been keeping up with your career. I might be looking at our first female Chief Of Police. How’d you ever hook up with this guy?” Greg pointed at Tim as Tim rolled his eyes. Lucy laughed nervously as Greg went back to his blender. Soon everyone was drinking Rowan’s favorite evening cocktail...a blend of rose wine, ice, and slices of fresh fruit. Rowan held up her glass to do a toast...but Tim beat her to it. “Cheers...to the two toughest rookies the LAPD has ever seen!” Rowan laughed as she looked at Lucy, who smiled. “I’ll drink to that!”

Later in the evening, as they were sitting around the table finishing up their meal, Tim looked at Rowan. “So, Rowan...I have a surprise for you...well, a few of them actually.” Rowan smiled at Tim and Lucy. “Oh...good, because I love surprises!” Tim laughed as he reached for Lucy’s hand. “Well, first of all, Lucy and I are getting married.” Rowan gasped as she smacked Greg’s hand. “I told you…” Greg just nodded and smiled. “Yes, you did babe. Sounds just like us.” Lucy grinned as Tim continued. “Also, Lucy and I bought your old house, in Echo Park...we had no idea it used to be yours when we bought it. It’s kind of in rough shape, so, we’re renovating it right now. When we’re through with the renovations, you and Greg are coming over for dinner.” Rowan smiled brightly at Tim. “Oh my goodness! Oh I loved that house...we had such good times there. But then we found out that I was pregnant with McElroy...Mac.., and we had to find a bigger place. Oh I can’t wait to see what you two do with it!” Tim nodded, as Rowan briefly told Lucy about Mac, her and Greg’s youngest, and “surprise” child. Tim sipped his wine. “Well...that brings me to my last surprise. When we started the renovations, we found some old journals that had been left behind in the house. They’re yours, Rowan...when you first started with the LAPD.” Rowan gasped as Lucy looked at her guiltily. “I’m sorry, Rowan, but Tim and I read a couple of them. We brought them with us...they’re in Tim’s truck.” Rowan blinked back happy tears. “Oh, I don’t care if you read them. I knew we had lost them on one of our moves...we’ve moved several times over the years. I was devastated to lose them...I always wondered what happened to them. I’m so glad you found them Lucy!” Lucy smiled at Rowan. “I have to say, Rowan, you are truly an inspiration. I can only hope my career is half as successful as yours was.” Rowan winked at Lucy. “You keep doing what you’re doing, Lucy Chen. The sky’s the limit...remember that.” Greg smiled as he leaned over and kissed Rowan, and Lucy saw what a timeless love Rowan and Greg had with each other...she could only hope that was what was in store for her and Tim. 

Rowan jumped up from the table just then. “Lucy...come with me for a minute.” Lucy smiled at her, and got up from the table and followed Rowan into her bedroom. Rowan went into her walk in closet and got out what looked to Lucy like an old jewelry box. Rowan set it on her dresser and opened it. “I know it’s in here somewhere…” Rowan was moving things around as Lucy patiently waited, wondering what this was all about. Rowan smiled as she found what she was looking for. “Ah...here it is.” Rowan pulled out her St. Michael medallion...St. Michael was the patron saint of Police Officers. Greg had given it to her when she had completed her training. He’d had it engraved.. ‘To The Best Rookie I ever Trained.’ Rowan handed it to Lucy. “I want you to have this, Lucy.” Lucy glanced down in surprise at Rowan’s medallion, before trying to hand it back to her. “Oh...no, Rowan, I couldn’t!” Rowan just laughed. “Yes, you can. I wore that every day of my career, and it kept me safe. I’m passing it on to the best damn rookie of today.” Lucy felt the tears brim in her eyes as Rowan pulled her into a hard hug. “Thank you so much, Rowan.” Lucy eased back as she looked at the medallion, and saw the inscription on the back. She looked at Rowan. “I thought Greg didn’t finish training you? I thought Officer Crawford finished training you?” Rowan just winked at her and smiled, as Lucy grinned back at her. 

As the evening came to a close, Lucy wanted to get a picture of her and Rowan. Tim took his cell phone out and snapped a picture of Rowan and Lucy, standing next to each other, smiling at Tim. In the background of the picture on a shelf stood a picture of Rowan, as a rookie, accepting her Rookie of The year award. And that’s how the female badass rookie of the LAPD of yesterday met the female badass rookie of the LAPD of today.

THE END


End file.
